The Technion is opening an undergraduate degree program in Bnei Brak in mapping and geo-information. The studies are intended for young men from the Haredi sector and will be given in the Haredi College of Bnei Brak (Mivchar). The program has been approved by the Council for Higher Education.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cThere is a severe lack of trained professionals in every field of civil and environmental engineering,\u201d said the dean of the faculty at the Technion, Prof. Arnon Bentur. \u201cWe will help Haredi students in Bnei Brak acquire a profession that guarantees them a respectable career that combines income with a broad vista for advancing in the public and private sectors. The Technion in general, and the Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering in particular are exerting great effort to expand our target audiences. These efforts have so far led to the opening of a special Technion study track in the Jerusalem College of Engineering, whose students study for two years in the college\u2019s Jerusalem campus and then complete their studies at the Technion in Haifa. In addition, as a result of these endeavors we now award 100 scholarships annually as part of the \u201cAtidim for Infrastructures\u201d program, with 60% of recipients being young people from the country\u2019s periphery. And in the same way, today, we are reaching out to the Haredi sector. This step represents a unique model that simultaneously responds to two national needs \u2013 the first, in the field of engineering and the second, the integration of the Haredi sector into the workforce of the state of Israel. The Center for Mapping of Israel will act to find jobs for graduates of the new program.\u201d<\/p>\n
We are talking about a three-year program that will not only award a BA but will also constitute a strong basis for getting a \u201ccertified surveyor\u201d license \u2013 a much sought after employee. Registration has already begun and the 15-month preparatory program will begin in September. After completing this program, students will study for three years for a BA. Classes will be held at the college in Bnei Brak and will be given by members of the Technion\u2019s Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Students in the program will be official Technion students even though the classes are being given in Bnei Brak.<\/p>\n
The Council for Higher Education\u2019s decision to authorize the Technion to establish the program in Bnei Brak says, in part, that \u201cthe recommendation of the Committee for Monitoring Education in the Haredi Sector was given in the framework of the green light given by the Council for Higher Education\u2019s Planning and Budget Committee \u2013 to include new programs for Haredi organizational frameworks in the new five year plan, in terms of planning and budgeting.\u201d<\/p>\n
The web page of the Haredi College of Bnei Brak says that \u201cDr. Harav Avrahum Foss, of blessed memory, founder of the Haredi College of Bnei Brak, who gallantly led the vocational revolution of the Haredi sector, initiated the establishment of the college in order to meet the need for appropriate, completely segregated higher education studies for the Haredi public. The great vision of a great founder was to enable thousands of new students to proudly earn a living.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cAs an institution that has been contributing to the state in every field of life since its establishment almost one hundred years ago, the Technion is proud and happy to contribute its part to this national mission \u2013 providing a wage-earning\u00a0 profession to the Haredi public,\u201d stressed Technion president, Prof. Peretz Lavie.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"