American yeshiva HS students get a taste of Israeli tech

Many yeshiva high schools in the US lack the comprehensive technology education program needed to prepare kids for the careers of tomorrow with hands-on experiences. That’s where her organization comes in, says Judy Lebovits, vice president and director of the Center for Initiatives in Jewish Education (CIJE).

“We provide unique access and activities that will significantly enhance our CIJE-Tech students’ education,” Lebovits said. “The schools don’t have the staff for this, and we try to fill that gap, providing resources for yeshiva high schools and day schools throughout the country.”

It’s to that end the CJIE organized its first tech trip to Israel for high school students. Called CIJE-Tech: Journey to the Start-Up Nation, the ten-day program, which concluded last week, was the latest effort by CJIE to get kids interested in and excited about science and technology, helping them to prepare for the STEM – science, technology, engineering and mathematics – careers of the 21st century.

The CIJE-Tech program focuses on encouraging and enhancing education for science and biomedical engineering. CIJE-Tech exposes students to a diverse range of science and technical knowledge while helping develop multidisciplinary and abstract thinking as well as leadership and teamwork skills, said Lebovits. “We also provide intensive teacher training, on-going teacher mentoring as well as all science laboratory equipment and materials, which many of the schools can’t afford.”

Operating since 2001, CIJE has built 100 computer laboratories, 27 state-of-the-art science laboratories and donated more than 500 smart boards, Lebovits said.

The trip included about 50 students from yeshiva high schools throughout the US who journeyed to Israel to meet scientists, entrepreneurs, investors, and fellow teens who, according to Lebovits, would help to open up new vistas for participants, both in terms of how they see their futures, and how they see Israel.

“Of course there are plenty of opportunities for kids to learn about technology in their communities, but we also want them to see Israel as a center for tech, and thus to dispel some of the stereotypes they might have about Israel – that it is strictly a spiritual center, or that it is a dangerous, backward place. We want to show them that Israel is about more than Iron Dome and soup kitchens,” she said.

Many of the participants in this trip are already enrolled in science programs in their schools, or are at least interested in the subject, said Lebovits. The trip emphasized life sciences and biotechnology, taking participants to places like the Technion, the Herzliya Interdisciplinary Center (IDC), and biotech firm Given Imaging, as well as start-ups, Google Labs Tel Aviv, venture capital firm Jerusalem Venture Partners, Jerusalem entrepreneurial hub Siftech, and others.

“Israel has done amazing things in entrepreneurship, and we want these kids to be aware of that as well,” said Lebovits. “We want to show them options, and Israel’s wide variety of approaches to tech provides that.”

It worked for David, one of the students on the trip, who is studying engineering at a New Jersey yeshiva high school. “One thing I was very impressed with was the work being done by entrepreneurs. We had a chance to speak to some of them and we all asked questions about what they did and how they got to where they are, and – most interesting to me – what we had to do to become entrepreneurs ourselves.”

Entrepreneurship wasn’t something he had considered, but now it is, David added. “The most impressive thing is they can just come in and talk about their successes and failures to a group. They know a lot about technology and business, which is an amazing combination.”

For Golda, a student at a Long Island day school, the trip was a real eye-opener in a number of ways. “I am hoping to study chemical or biotech engineering, and what we saw at the Technion in these areas was amazing. I didn’t know they had this kind of technology in Israel.”

Besides the tech itself, Golda was enamored of the people doing it. “We spoke with one of the Technion’s top biotech researchers, who happens to be religious, and a mother. She is a really good role model for any young woman thinking of a science career – it was great how she could combine those different roles and get so much work done.”

In fact, Dafna said, she was so impressed by the Technion that she might consider it for her college studies. Her parents, she believes, wouldn’t have a problem with a decision like that – and she isn’t worried about spending an extended period in Israel.

“In the US we always hear about the tension between Arabs and Jews, but when I was here I saw Muslims shopping in Israeli malls and talking in a friendly manner with Jews. It shows that Israel is a lot more than what the media portrays, and a lot safer than people think.”