Developing Apple Environment Applications
A collaboration with Apple provides our students with the opportunity to develop a complete application, display it on Apple’s application store, and earn royalties from its sales! The product’s development focuses on its user interface, leveraging it into a true entrepreneurial idea. As students are exposed to the development language used by Apple (Objective C) and are closely supported by the department, these young developers can reap the fruits of their labor while still studying for their bachelor’s degree. Lior Zaritsky and Aviv Shukurun are an example of such students: they developed an application allowing users to monitor lighting controllers and stage lights from their iPhones.
Technological Entrepreneurship Program
This program permits students to establish a virtual start-up while studying for their degree. The program begins on the students’ fourth semester, and its purpose is to guide students with innovative, applicable ideas into their implementation by establishing a start-up company. As part of the program, students experience every step involved in the creation of a start-up, from the abstract idea through the feasibility study as part of the final project on their senior year. Students on the program are assisted by a committee of technological entrepreneurship experts consisting of senior businessmen and industrialists from the applicable fields. When possible, the committee advises young entrepreneurs which projects warrant it on the ways to implement their final project into a technological business that can yield true profits.
The Magneton Program
The purpose of the Magneton Program is to encourage technology transfer from the academy to the industry, and it is jointly funded by the industry itself and the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Employment.
The Genius Company, a subsidiary of Israel Aerospace Industries and Elbit, has joined forces with our department’s robotics lab in a project where the latter transfers smart algorithms used by a group of robots for effectively patrolling along the border.
The algorithms, developed by our students and researchers, make it possible for the robots to work as a “team”, which in turn allows them to handle possible events by utilizing “team knowledge” and directing the team autonomically (with no operator interference).
Genius and our department’s robotics lab were lucky enough to be provided with the opportunity to be part of the prestigious Magneton Program. They will work together for one year (and possibly a second year as well) with the purpose of transferring the knowledge and implementing it at Genius.
Collaboration with the Israeli Defense Forces
The ALATZ Project – college education before the student’s military service: gifted high school students start their college education in computer science in conjunction with attending high school and are then drafted into the military having already obtained a bachelor’s degree (B.Sc.) in computer science. These students regularly excel in national and international competitions and go on to serve in the most prestigious development units of the IDF.
The AVATZ Project – college education during the student’s military service: military officers, serving as software developers, complete their college education and attain a bachelor’s degree (B.Sc.) while still serving in the army.