Putting the Common Good First at Technion

Technion alumnus Moshe Yanai highlighted the depth of service exemplified through recipients of the Yanai Prize for Excellence in Academic Education. The annual Technion ceremony added new prize categories, including an educational initiative grant; and commendation in teaching.

Six outstanding professors at the Technion Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering received the Yanai Prize for Excellence in Academic Education this year. In addition to prizes for excellence, new categories were added for education in entrepreneurship and special commendation for teaching.

The ceremony was attended by Moshe and Rachel Yanai, the Technion Board, the winners and their families, lecturers and students. The prestigious prize was awarded for the sixth consecutive year: “In appreciation of faculty members, who set an example through their endless contributions to teaching and learning and for their efforts to improve student involvement and sense of belonging to the Technion.”

The six prize recipients this year are:  

• Assistant Professor Oded Amir (Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering),
• Professor Eli Boehm (Faculty of Computer Science),
• Dr. Ari Gero (Faculty of Education in Science & Technology),
• Prof. Ron Holtzman (Faculty of Mathematics),
• Assistant Professor Guy Bartal (Faculty of Electrical Engineering)
• Professor Sima Yaron (Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering).

The Yanai educational initiative grant was awarded to the vertical-thematic studio (which was established at the Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning). Teaching commendations were awarded to Professor Dan Ritter (Faculty of Electrical Engineering), Associate Professor Yossi Gil (Faculty of Computer Science) and Associate Professor Yoed Tsur (Faculty of Chemical Engineering).

Technion alumnus Moshe Yanai, donated $12 million for the establishment of the prize. Attending the ceremony with his wife Rachel, he said: “The prizewinners are people who put the common good before their own personal good. Academic promotion is based on publishing articles and obtaining research grants, and not on the quality of teaching, and therefore researchers like you, who invest time and effort in teaching, do so out of genuine altruism. Our contribution to the establishment of the prize is a catalyst for excellence in teaching, but no less important is the seriousness with which the Technion approaches this mission. Everyone talks about the importance of teaching in academia, but the Technion doesn’t merely talk about it. It does a lot in this area.”

Technion President Prof. Peretz Lavie spoke about the revolution taking place in the world of teaching and about the Technion’s commitment to play a significant role. “The monopoly on the retention and distribution of knowledge has been taken out of the hands of its historical gatekeepers, and now the pocket of every ten-year-old contains more computer power than the Apollo spacecraft.” he said. “Therefore, teaching shouldn’t be based on facts and content, but rather on imparting skills such as validation of information, integration of information from different sources and intelligent use of information for problem-solving. We must make sure that the training, skills and knowledge that we impart to our students will be relevant not just a few years after graduation, but throughout their professional lives.”

“The Yanai Prize is the most important prize awarded at the Technion for excellence in teaching,” said the chairperson of the prize committee, Technion Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Prof. Hagit Attiya. “It is also the most significant prize that the Technion awards to its faculty members. This clearly and concretely demonstrates the importance that the Technion attaches to teaching.”

Professor Sima Yaron spoke on behalf of the prize recipients. “Although I come from an engineering faculty, I believe that there is no one single formula for effective teaching, and there is no one single correct way to create a meaningful learning experience,” she said. “It’s very easy for me to remember three teachers that I consider teachers of life: teachers whose teaching method attracted me to mathematics and science in childhood, and a larger number of lecturers who taught me as a student, here at the Technion.”

Professor Yaron spoke about the extensive project initiated by students from the faculty in the wake of the oil spill incident in the southern Arava in December 2014.  A large group of students, accompanied by Technion faculty members, volunteered to research ways to remove pollution from the soil. “I always knew that we had a gold mine of wonderful students here,” said Professor Yaron, “but in that formative year, I learned that our students, even those who come late to class or unprepared to exams, or don’t do their homework, are just waiting for a trigger that will send them in the right direction. When that happens, they get carried away and devote themselves to the learning and work experience.”

The faculty prize went to the Faculty of Food Engineering and Biotechnology. “The prize fills me with pride, but doesn’t surprise me,” said Prof. Marcelle Machluf, Dean of the Faculty. “This is the result of many years of effort by faculty members and employees.  In selecting faculty members, we take into account not only the level of research but also excellence in teaching. Previous Yanai Prize winners from the faculty, Prof. Ayelet Fishman and Prof. Ester H. Segal, are joined this year by Prof. Sima Yaron, and I am sure she will not be the last. I thank the students at the faculty, who are the source of our success.”

Technion Student Union Chairman Omer Amit said that it is important to remember that the term “research university” includes not only the word “research” but also the word “university,” whose purpose is teaching. “You, the prize recipients, have now received a badge of excellence that bears a great responsibility: to be teaching ambassadors at your faculties and to inspire those lecturers that do not take teaching as seriously as you do.”

The Yanai educational initiative grant was awarded to the vertical-thematic studio which was established at the Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning. “The studio was established as part of the restructuring of teaching at the Faculty, and aims to link research to practice, to enrich the range of options available to students and to better prepare them for their final project,” explained studio founder Prof. Alona Nitzan-Shiftan.

The event was hosted by Prof. Ayelet Baram-Tsabari from the Faculty of Education in Science & Technology.

About the Yanai Prize

Moshe Yanai is a global pioneer in the field of information storage. His donation to Technion in the form of the Yanai Prize expresses his gratitude to Technion for the life skills he gained during his studies at the institute 40 years ago. Since he recalls the years of study at the university with hardship and periods of difficulty, he decided together with Technion President, Prof. Peretz Lavie, to contribute $12 million to award lecturers who have demonstrated teaching excellence, a gift that also greatly benefits Technion students. The prize, which awards NIS 100,000 to each lecturer, will be awarded over a period of 20 years.

For photos from the awards ceremony,click here

Photos:

1. Yanai2017 – Group photo of the Yanai prizewinners for 2017
2. 626 – Left to right: Dr. Lina Lavie, Moshe Yanai, Professor Peretz Lavie, Rachel Yanai, Professor Boaz Golani
3. 804 – Associate Professor Yoed Tsur from the Faculty of Chemical Engineering receives a teaching commendation
4. 164 – Professor Dan Ritter from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering receives a teaching commendation
5. 163 – Yanai Prize awarded at the Faculty of Food Engineering and Biotechnology. Left to right: Technion Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Professor Hagit Attiya, Moshe Yanai, Student Union Chairman Omer Amit, Technion President Professor Peretz Lavie, and Dean of the Faculty Professor Marcelle Machluf
6. 022 – Assistant Professor Oded Amir receives the Yanai Prize
7. 341 – Assistant Professor Guy Bartal receives the Yanai Prize
8. 471 – Professor Eli Boehm receives the Yanai Prize
9. 156 – Professor Ron Holzman receives the Yanai Prize
10. 295 – Professor Sima Yaron receives the Yanai Prize
11. 995 – Professor Alona Nitzan-Shiftan and Faculty Dean Professor Iris Aravot receive the educational initiative grant for the establishment of the vertical-thematic studio at the Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning

Photo: Nitzan Zohar, Office of the Spokesperson, the Technion