Engineering Start Up Center in Jerusalem

By Jackie Ross

Tel Aviv gets much of the credit for being the hub of the 'Start Up Nation", but there is innovation brewing in the nation's capital of Jerusalem. The Azrieli College of Engineering is educating the next generation of thinkers and doers, so that in the near future there are just as many new companies mapped in Jerusalem, as there are in the Center.
The institution is not very old - opening in 1999. It's unique in that it's the only college dedicated just to engineering in the city. While that focus might seem narrow, the fact is engineering is a huge discipline, and students are able to focus their learning from high-tech areas, to civil engineering (think buildings and roads) and environmental engineering (dealing with waste, sustainable development). There is a joint venture with the pharmaceutical company Teva for those who what to go into biomedical engineering, as well as another partnership with the prestigious Technion Institute in Haifa.

Part of why the institution was founded in Jerusalem was to help bring jobs to the Holy City. While the majority of Israelis live in the Center of the country, along with many of the jobs, often Jerusalemites choose to commute in order to find jobs based on their skills. With the advent of places like Azrieli College, more jobs will be available to highly skilled workers, making Jerusalem an even more appealing place to live (as if the City of Gold needed any help!). The College has also started its own Start Up Accelerator for those who want to live in Jerusalem and it's suburbs and need help getting their great idea off the ground. The application form can be found here. But you need to act soon! Applications will only be accepted until September 30, after which the process to select the best ideas will begin. Please share with anyone you might think appropriate for this venture. Hopefully it will breed great ideas that produce lots of jobs in Jerusalem and helpful technology for Israel and the whole world!

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