Technion Holds Robophysics Course For Evacuated High Schoolers

The Technion – Israel Institute of Technology has held a week-long program in robophysics (how robots move in the real world) for outstanding high school students who were evacuated from their homes close to the northern border with Lebanon. 

The Technion uses its study of robophysics as a way of teaching other fields such as artificial intelligence, physics and software. It adapted its courses for the high school students who were evacuated due to the threat from Hezbollah in Lebanon. 

The 30 students – 11th and 12th graders from Kiryat Shmona, Shlomi and Kibbutz Dafna – lived and studied on the Haifa-based institute’s campus for the week. The initiative was led by the Atidim NGO, which works to improve the lives of people in Israel’s geographical and socioeconomic periphery.  

The program for the students included 45 hours of studies and a variety of enrichment activities held at t:hub, the Technion’s entrepreneurship and innovation center. 

Participants also received long-term personal mentoring and a subsidy for a preparation course for the psychometric test that is required by Israeli universities. 

“These are not the ideal conditions for learning, and it’s hard for all of us to concentrate these days, but I hope this program will give you a chance to take a break from the news and to gain important knowledge in an immersive and enriching manner,” Prof. Idit Keidar, Dean of the Technion’s Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering, told the participating students. 

Meital Shaked, director of the Atidim Youth program, said that future cohorts on the week-long program will include outstanding students who were evacuated in the south of Israel as well. 

“The Technion has opened its heart and its campus, enabling the program’s participants to enjoy everything that this excellent institution has to offer, and we greatly appreciate this partnership. I have no doubt that we will continue to collaborate in the future,” Shaked said.