Nobel Chemistry Prize Winner Says Israel Needs More Science Students
Source: Times of Israel
Nobel Prize winner, Professor Dan Shechtman, world-renowned for his work in chemistry and material science, says Israel must do more to promote the study of sciences to make sure it keeps its technology edge. Shechtman, who has been running a course on technological entrepreneurship at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology for the past 30 years, has developed a plan for innovation studies for Ort Israel Sci-Tech Schools, a network of vocational schools. The program is being implemented in eight schools in Israel and the organization hopes to spread it further and globally as well.
The study program combines arts and innovation studies — although Shechtman was involved in developing only the scientific part of the studies. The curriculum has students working on projects in which a research question is posed by the needs of the community and the teams study the subject together with research institutes. When solutions are found — at the end of the study program, which lasts for a full school year, students can list a patent or set up a startup, Ort said. The studies are for 9th and 10th graders, and Ort is looking to expand the program to 7th through 12th graders.
Read the entire article at The Times of Israel.