image: (left to right): Signing ceremony (left to right): Prof. Rafi Melnick, President of Reichman University, Prof. Uriel Reichman, Founding President and Chairman of the Board of Reichman University, Prof. Yossi Matias VP at Google and Head of Israel's R&D Center and Barak Regev, Managing Director of Google Israel. view more
Credit: Gilad Kavalerchik
Herzliya, Google and Reichman University are establishing a school for the high-tech professions. The objective of the school’s establishment is to provide equal opportunities to every person seeking to contribute to the biggest engine of growth in the Israeli economy – the high-tech industry – based on their personal skills and suitability to the program. Underrepresented populations will have an equal opportunity to join the program regardless of their financial ability to pay for the course.
The School of High-Tech will include a portfolio of technological and business courses to prepare students for professions that are in high demand in the Israeli high-tech market. These will include courses on programming, software testing, business development, sales, data analysis, and more.
Google has invested in providing scholarships to the program's participants, out of a shared vision to make high-tech training accessible to all and to provide equal opportunities to the diverse sectors of the Israeli population. Admission to the various programs will be based on applicants’ abilities, qualifications, and interpersonal skills – tuition fees will not be a barrier or a consideration in the admissions process.
The courses will comprise core academic studies, combined with the most up-to-date professional training in the industry. Unlike other “bootcamps” (accelerated courses for the high-tech professions), these courses will be under academic supervision and will offer academic credits that will count towards an academic degree. Support to ensure high-quality placements and integration into the workforce will also be provided.
The School of High-Tech will reach out to populations that are under-represented in Israeli high-tech, including women, the ultra-Orthodox, Arabs, members of the Ethiopian community, and people from the geo-social periphery and disadvantaged socio-economic groups. This will be done in collaboration with civil society and non-profit organizations. Studies will take place at the Google Campus in Tel Aviv and at Reichman University in Herzliya. In the future, some of the courses will also be held in the periphery, in both the north and south of the country.
Managing Director of Google Israel, Barak Regev: “Google has been leading the journey to diversify Israeli high-tech for several years, with support for initiatives such as she-codes and KamaTech, which began their paths at the Google for Startups campus about a decade ago. We believe that a variety of voices, opinions and perspectives enriches Israeli high-tech and its developments. Today, we are excited to take this commitment to the next level together with Reichman University.
“During a visit at the beginning of the year by Ruth Porat, the CFO of Google, we pledged to invest an unprecedented amount of 25 million dollars in diversifying high-tech employment in Israel. The School of High-Tech at Reichman University, in cooperation with Google, is the first step in our Journey to Tech program, which will enable us to expand the circle of high-tech employees and at the same time diversify it through skilled and high-quality employees from all parts of the Israeli population.”
Founding President and Chairman of the Board of Reichman University, Prof. Uriel Reichman: “The School of High-Tech is being established out of national responsibility and a belief that it is only through education that can we promote social mobility. Reichman University continues to work to strengthen social resilience and train the future leadership of Israeli society.”