Month: May 2021

Nir Cohen of Moshav Neta’im, an 11th-grade student at the Gymnasia HaRealit High School in Rishon LeZion, won a silver medal at the 55th Mendeleev Chemistry Olympiad, which took place online this year with the participation of 25 countries. The Mendeleev Olympiad has been held for 55 years, and Israel has participated in the event since 2016. The team was trained at the Schulich Faculty of Chemistry at the Technion, under the guidance of Professor Zeev Gross and the team’s head coach, Dr. Izana Nigel-Etinger.

At the end of the process, which included three selection phases and intensive practice sessions, eight students had the privilege of being chosen to participate in the Olympiad: Nir Cohen, an 11th-grade student at the Gymnasia HaRealit High School in Rishon LeZion; Noya Dishon, an 11th-grade student at the Ort Psagot High School in Karmiel; Itamar Steinitz, a 12th-grade student at the Kfar Hayarok School in Ramat Hasharon; Salakh Bshara, a 12th-grade student at the Ibrahim Kassam Amal Multidisciplinary School in Tira; Sean Cherneyev, a 12th-grade student at the Darca Danciger School in Kiryat Shmona; Neta Eiger, a 10th-grade student at the Shaked Darca Secondary School in Sde Eliyahu; Simion Kotliar, a 10th-grade student at the Third Comprehensive School in Ashdod; and Sheli Skop, a 12th-grade student at the Kfar Hayarok School in Ramat Hasharon.

Prof. Gross, who is head of Youth Programs at the Faculty of Chemistry, said, “The importance of participating in the Mendeleev Olympiad goes above and beyond the experience and the privilege because it prepares and seasons the students for the IChO, the International Chemistry Olympiad, in which 84 countries take part.”

This year, the IChO will be held online from July 25 to August 2.

The four International Olympiads in Sciences for Youth are the product of a joint venture between the Future Scientists Center, established by the Maimonides Fund, and the Israeli Ministry of Education, which are also deeply involved in processes of examination, lessons learned, and policy crafting.

PTC has entered into a long-term strategic collaboration agreement with the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, under which PTC will establish a research and development center and invest NIS 15 million ($5 million USD) into the Technion’s main campus in Haifa. Under the terms of the agreement, PTC and the Technion will jointly research and upgrade learning processes relating to advanced manufacturing technology. PTC’s Haifa development center will relocate to the Technion under the leadership of Dr. Michael Reitman. 

PTC has also allocated an annual budget for joint research in industrial IoT, augmented reality, simulation, and generative design. The allocation supports Technion faculty by providing software products; awarding scholarships and incentives to students and researchers; initiating hackathons and contests, and sponsoring educational programs.

“Today, scientific and technological breakthroughs need both multidisciplinary research and close collaboration between academia and industry. Industry is at the forefront of active implementation and is well acquainted with market needs, whereas academia brings basic scientific knowledge and research depth,” said Prof. Uri Sivan, President, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. “This is why, in the past few years, Technion has placed greater emphasis on working to tighten its connections with the industry, and the present agreement is the culmination of a long-standing relationship between Technion and PTC. We believe the agreement enables both parties to gain ground, grow, and reap the benefits of each other’s strengths.”

Announced in 2014, the initial agreement between PTC and Technion jumpstarted a robotics and digital content program for the Science and Technology department, including a teaching laboratory for industrial IoT, computer-aided design, manufacturing, and augmented reality, among other STEM topics. As a result of the long-standing collaboration, Technion alumni have joined PTC to lead the company’s Haifa development center, PTC’s second-largest center outside the U.S.

“The importance of collaboration between academia and industry is recognized worldwide,” said Ziv Belfer, Divisional Vice President of Global Research and Development and General Manager, PTC. “PTC has enjoyed 15 years of successful collaboration with Aachen University in Germany, including the construction of a separate campus that also houses R&D laboratories for companies that collaborate with academic staff. Several projects subsequently became success markers for commercial companies, and we look forward to replicating these efforts with the Technion in Israel.”

PTC (NASDAQ: PTC) enables global manufacturers to realize double-digit impact with software solutions that enable them to accelerate product and service innovation, improve operational efficiency, and increase workforce productivity. In combination with an extensive partner network, PTC provides customers flexibility in how its technology can be deployed to drive digital transformation – on premises, in the cloud, or via its pure SaaS platform.