Israel Signs Second Agreement with Tech Firm Lockheed-Martin to Encourage More Kids to Study Science and Tech
Source: Times of Israel
In a bid to ensure that Israel retains its edge in cyber-security, the Science and Technology Ministry recently signed a deal with Lockheed Martin to produce educational curricula in science and technology, with an emphasis on teaching the principles of cyber-security.
The objective is to create a new generation of tech experts who will ensure that Israel remains a leader in technology development – especially in cyber-security. There are currently more than 300 cyber-security start-ups in Israel, and those companies, along with veteran security firms like CheckPoint, attracted 10% of all cyber-security investments worldwide, government statistics show.
"Studies show that there is a major gap in technology and science education between children from different economic backgrounds,” said Science and Technology Minister Danny Danon at the signing of the agreement with Patrick Dewar, executive vice-president of LM. “These gaps begin to develop at the kindergarten level. Ensuring that all children have an opportunity to learn science and technology is essential to the future of Israel,” said Danon.
Danon had good reason to work out a cyber-education deal with LM, because that company has already amassed a great deal of experience in educating Israeli kids on STEM – science, technology, engineering and mathematics – programs.
Over the past year, LM has, sponsored a number of programs to train instructors to more effectively teach STEM, the building block subjects of a career in cyber-security or any other tech field. Last year, for example, LM hosted a Vision of the Future Cyber-Security Roundtable, to provide a forum for government, industry and academia to share their perspectives on cyber education. LM also held a conference called People & Computers EduNation, where education professionals swapped ideas and techniques for teaching STEM.
Upcoming in August will be Israel’s first girls-only cyber summer camp in Israel. The participants will include 70 female students transitioning from the 9th to 10th grade. The program will include a four-day sleep over camp August 10-13, 2015 at Tel Aviv University.
Read the entire story at the Times of Israel.