Empowering the Capital
Nestled alongside Begin Boulevard, the Jerusalem College of Engineering (JCE) provides the capital’s burgeoning technology-rich industries with highly qualified engineers. Established in 1999, in conjunction with the Jerusalem Municipality, the Jerusalem Development Authority and the Jewish Agency’s Partnership 2000 Jerusalem-New York, the JCE offers over 1,200 students four year B.Sc. programs in Advanced Materials engineering, Software engineering, Electronics engineering, Industry and Management engineering and the newest addition – Pharmaceutical engineering. Students maintain high levels of academic excellence and practical savvy due to the ongoing academic collaboration with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the dynamic and direct involvement of leading companies such Intel, NDS and Teva in the various programs.
Vice President and General Manager, Dr. Avital Stien, PhD in mathematical education, former member of the Israeli National Women’s Basketball Team and mother of four, spoke of the problems facing the nation’s capital, and the solutions provided by the JCE.
Q: What are some of the problems Jerusalem faces, and how does the JCE aim to alleviate them?
A: The Jerusalem College of Engineering strives to provide a solid base for the economic strengthening of the city. We are but one, medium-sized institution, but we provide a solution to the problem of strengthening Jerusalem’s economic-financial base. In order for Jerusalem to retain its status as the nation’s capital and a leading Israeli city, it must be a magnet for Israelis – culturally, in terms of leisure activities and employment. The problem in Jerusalem, the second poorest city in the country after Bnei Brak, is a lack of economic power. At the College, we aim to develop Jerusalem as a high tech hub, which will bolster the economic situation of the entire population. For example, if pharmaceutical giant Teva considers constructing another factory in Jerusalem, the fact that we can provide qualified engineers saves them the huge cost of providing transportation for engineers from Tel Aviv. Another powerful incentive is Jerusalem’s status as a Development Area A, which allots substantial tax benefits to those seeking to establish such a facility. In such a case, the factory would provide much-needed employment not only to engineers, but also to a host of service providers and subcontractors, administrative staff, maintenance crews, drivers, etc. Essentially, the development of high tech industry provides many jobs in other sectors.
Q: What are the goals of the College?
A: One of our major goals is the empowerment and promotion of women in the technological fields. Traditionally, the Jewish mother doesn’t want her beloved daughter to be a blue collar worker, but neither does she see a career in engineering as a desirable alternative. And, in fact, in our electronics engineering program, we have one female student out of 90! What most Jewish mothers don’t realize is that a career in high tech industries can be perfectly-suited for women. An engineer or programmer can work from home during her maternity leave, works fewer hours and suffers from less stress and wear than a teacher or a lawyer. Furthermore, upon graduation, our students receive starting salaries of anywhere between 17 and 25 thousand shekels – a very respectable salary for men or women, and around 3 times as much as her salary would have been if she had chosen medicine, another favorite of the Yiddisher mama. In order to encourage and empower women, we have a scholarship for female students, from a special fund, designed to draw women to study engineering.
Another important goal is the empowerment of disenfranchised populations with a potential for excellence, but whose socio-economic situation prevents them from attaining their full potential. This is where our scholarships, to which 70 percent of our student population is eligible, come into the picture. Many of our students are on General Scholarships, which require recipients to spend 4 hours a week volunteering at such institutions as Yad Sarah, soup kitchens, retirement homes, working with the blind, and so forth. Our mentoring program sends our students with the highest academic achievements, many of whom come from a harsh socioeconomic background themselves, to work with youths at technological high schools throughout the city as mentors - tutoring and providing a fine example for the young pupils. Today’s teachers at technological high schools aren’t always up to date with the latest innovations in the industry, and our students can provide just that, due to their solid connection with the city’s high tech companies. The percentage of Jerusalem youths majoring in technological fields is less than half of the national average, and, as a result, many don’t continue on to advanced studies and employment in technological industries. Our mentoring program aims to change that. Our President, Uzi Wexler, out of love and dedication, raised millions of dollars and pioneered the Aviv Scholarship Program, which provides 45 of our students with 4,500 $ a year, covering tuition, and a monthly stipend of 1,000 NIS. These are students from difficult economic backgrounds, and if we hadn’t gone out and sought them, they would never have come here, never would have studied, and never would have realized their full potential. Today, Aviv Scholarship recipients graduate as engineers, often becoming the first academics in their families, “pulling” their families in their footsteps and “showing them the light” - highlighting the importance of academic education. These disenfranchised youngsters whom we nurtured, upon completing their studies, fill high-paying positions in various companies, make a huge impact on their families, and are a great source of pride for all of us.
Q: What is the JCE’s connection to the Jerusalem high tech industry?
A: We pride ourselves in our ongoing ties to the industry – our graduates are up to date on industry innovations and their studies are extremely applied, and that is why they are ‘snatched up’ by any number of employers and do not remain unemployed upon completing their studies, which is sometimes the case among university graduates. Our alumni are not theoreticians. We produce graduates who are productive and attractive to the head hunters of the industry. Many of our graduates continue on, with flying colors, to advanced degrees and PhDs in many Israeli universities including the Hebrew University, the Technion and the Weizman Institute. We enjoy full academic cooperation with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Technion, and that helps us maintain our high academic standards.
Q: What kind of attraction does the JCE pose for potential donors?
A: There are a few kinds of benefactors. Some philanthropists prefer to donate to the high tech industries per se, and others prefer to donate and bolster the city of Jerusalem. If a donor is of the latter type, he might just select and donate funds to a synagogue of a cultural institution; and if he is of the first type, he might contribute only to any one of the many companies in the industry, such as Teva. But if he wants to contribute to both, the JCE is the right venue. I need potential donors who are a combination of both types.
The contribution made by the JCE to the economic viability of the city, the solid bonds it has forged with the city’s high tech companies, its positive involvement in the community and the change it has made in the lives of its students and numerous city youths are some of the reasons this unique college stands out among academic institutions in Israel, and have earned it much praise from industry leaders and long-time supporter and former Mayor of Jerusalem, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
