Founded in 1912, The Technion is the oldest university in Israel. Since its founding, it has awarded 95,821 degrees and its graduates are cited to have provided the skills and education behind the creation and protection of the State of Israel. The university's principal language of instruction is Hebrew. Historically, it is regarded as the language of the Hebrews/Israelites and their ancestors. Hebrew had ceased to be an everyday spoken language by around 200 CE, and survived into the medieval period only as the language of Jewish liturgy and rabbinical literature. Then in the 19th century it was revived as a spoken and literary language, Modern Hebrew is one of the two official languages of Israel, the other being Arabic. Students however come from all over the world. It is wonderful to tour the beautiful campus and listen to students converse in dozens of languages. The campus is located in a hilly area with lots of trees, promenades, and natural scenery. It has the feel to me of a small mountain community in my beloved Colorado.
The Technion which is a public research university in Haifa, Israel, was founded in 1912 and was originally located in the Hadar neighborhood of Haifa. The school was located in Hadar until the new Kiryat Hatechnion (Technion City) campus was inaugurated in Neve Sha'anan in the late 70's. The old historic building, dating from 1912, is now a hands-on science museum - MadaTech.
Albert Einstein was one of the original supporters of the university. Already in 1912 he felt that the development of technical and scientific opportunities for the Jewish people and at the new Technikum in Palestine in particular was an issue worth his effort. In 1923, Einstein visited the Technion. During his visit, he planted a now-famous first palm tree. The tree still stands today in front of the original building in Hadar. Einstein toured Europe and The United States to promote the Technion in those years to develop higher education in what was then Palestine. His actions were designed to promote education for Jewish youth rather than Zionism at that time. He initially was hesitant to support a Jewish homeland, but after the creation of Israel in 1948 became a fervent supporter of the nation. He was offered the largely ceremonial role of Israels second president but he declined due to his self proclaimed lack of people skills.
Technion City generally refers to the current 1.2 square kilometer site located on the pine-covered north-eastern slopes of Mount Carmel. The campus comprises 100 buildings, occupied by thousands of people every day. It is about twenty minutes west of the center of Haifa.
Recreational activities on the main campus include an Olympic-size swimming pool as well as gymnastics, squash and tennis facilities. The Technion Symphony Orchestra and Choir are composed mainly of students and staff. Each term, the Orchestra offers a series of daytime and evening concerts. Films and live performances by leading Israeli artists take place on campus on a regular basis
I visited the campus last week and watched the educational film at the visitors center and enjoyed the assistance of the friendly attendants. Everything was done in English but I understood very little of the information due to my lack of scientific training and education. However, It is my understanding that Einstein started a great university that has done much to help build a highly technical Israel and a better world.
