Eleven faculty members from the Technion won the Yanai Award for excellence in academic education

The recipient of the award Prof. Yossi Avron from the Faculty of Physics announced at the ceremony that he will donate the award money to the establishment of a scholarship fund for ultra-Orthodox (former religious)

The Yanai Award for Excellence in Academic Education was awarded for the fifth year in a row for a significant contribution to the advancement of academic education at the Technion, "as a sign of recognition and appreciation for the members of the academic faculty, who set an example in their ongoing contribution to teaching and learning and in their efforts to strengthen the involvement and sense of belonging of the students at the Technion."
The eleven lecturers who won the award this year are:

• • Professor Yossi Avron - Faculty of Physics
  • Professor Ran El-Yaneev - Faculty of Computer Sciences
  • Professor Shlomo Bachur - Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering
  • Professor Yosef Ben Asher - Faculty of Aeronautics and Space Engineering
  • Professor Eilat Baram-Zabari - Faculty of Education for Science and Technology
  • Associate Professor Moran Berkowitz - Faculty of Mechanical Engineering
  • Professor Mark Telsnik - Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering
  • Professor Daniel Levin - Wolfson Faculty of Chemical Engineering
  • Professor Ilan Mark - Shulich Faculty of Chemistry
  • Professor Ross Pinsky - Faculty of Mathematics
  • Professor Danny Raz - Faculty of Computer Science

"The winners of the Yanai Prize are role models, and they express the close connection between excellence in teaching and excellence in research," said Technion President Prof. Peretz Lavi in ​​his speech at the awarding ceremony.

"The Yanai Award for Excellence in Academic Education was founded to improve the quality of teaching at the Technion. The change was felt from the first year of its award, and it became a brand and synonymous with excellence in teaching. At the Technion of 2016, Yanai Award winners are role models, when the combination of the words "Yanai Award Bridegroom or Bride" became a desirable standard for excellence in teaching."

"The winners of the Yanai Prize are the light that goes before the camp. They are a model for the faculty members and an object of imitation," said Prof. Hagit Atia, the Technion's vice president for academic affairs, at the ceremony. "This is the most important and significant award given at the Technion for excellence in teaching and this fact clearly and concretely illustrates the importance that the Technion places on teaching."

"You don't see teaching as a burden but as an opportunity," said the chairman of the student union Omer Amit at the ceremony for the outstanding faculty members. "It is difficult to study at the Technion. The students at the Technion come to study, not to pass the time or please their parents. You understood the power in your hands and gave them what they needed most: inspiration."

Speaking at the ceremony on behalf of the prize winners, Prof. Yossi Evron from the Faculty of Physics announced that he would dedicate the prize, NIS 100, to the establishment of a scholarship fund for ultra-Orthodox students who passed the exam. The amount will be used to support these students at the Technion.

"This is one of the most deprived populations in Israel," said Prof. Evron. "Secular young people usually come to the Technion with a knowledge base and readiness. Haredi young people arrive with little knowledge - but are entitled to financial support from the state and the Technion. The ultra-Orthodox Datalshim are bald here and there: they have no education and no financial backing. More than that, many of them were ostracized by their families after leaving the religion."

Moshe Yanai, a world pioneer in the field of information storage, wanted to give back a little to the Technion as a thank you and appreciation for the tools the institution gave him during his studies forty years ago. Since he remembered the period of his studies as difficult, and at times even traumatic, he decided in one council with Technion President Professor Peretz Lavi to donate 12 million dollars which will be awarded to lecturers who excelled in the field of teaching, thus also contributing to Technion students. The prize, in the amount of 100 thousand shekels per lecturer, will be awarded for twenty years.

According to him "the importance of the award is in turning the spotlight on teaching and education and bringing them to the front of the stage. Research and publications are very important, but the importance of teaching and education at a strategic level surpasses them. He concluded his remarks with words of thanks to the Technion for allowing him to contribute back to society in a worthy and influential way.