The Technion -- blog by Avery

We went to the Israel Institute of Technology, known as the Technion, on Monday. The Technion was founded in 1912 by the German-Jewish fund Ezrah. The Technion was one of only two universities in Ottoman Palestine, the other being the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem, founded in 1907. The Technion opened in 1924, after a long debate about whether to use German or Modern Hebrew as the language of instruction. However, after World War I and the decline of Germany's power, Hebrew was adopted. The first class was made up of sixteen students, majoring in architecture and civil engineering.

The Technion awarded its first PhD in 1953, for electrical engineering. Until the opening of the engineering school in Ben Gurion University in the early 1970's, the Technion was the only university in Israel offering engineering degrees. The Technion now offers courses in eighteen areas, including electrical engineering, biotechnology, mathematics, and urban planning, among others.

While at the Technion, we learned about their close connection with Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. Rafael is the main developer of Israeli weapons and military technology. It has developed unmanned military airplanes and tanks. It has also developed the most accurate anti-ballistic missile in use today. Most of Rafael's engineers and faculty are Technion graduates, and the Technion and Rafael exchange research and work on each other's advances.

The Technion started as a small school in a small country. One of the things that helped jumpstart the Technion's popularity was Albert Einstein's involvement. After he visited the Technion in 1923, Einstein founded the first Technion Society, in Germany. There are now Technion Societies in seventeen countries, including the United States and the Netherlands. “Israel can win the battle for survival only by developing expert knowledge in technology,” is one of Einstein's most famous statements.

Visiting the Technion was both fun and interesting. We learned about the history of the school, the school's interaction with the military through Rafael, and the Technion Society, founded by Einstein. I would like to go back.