Milestones

Technion lays its foundations in Haifa in 1912 and opens its doors in 1924.

Click to preview a short clip featuring Technion Historical Events (in Hebrew)



"Israel can win the battle for survival only by developing expert knowledge in technology."
Prof. Albert Einstein, (President of the first Technion Society)

"Technion has a great contribution to make to Israel's future prosperity, and Israel's prosperity cannot but be of great benefit to other countries, as well."
Winston Churchill,(The late Prime Minister of Great Britain)

"You - the people of the Technion – have led the way in technology, science and engineering."
Yitzhak Rabin, (The late Prime Minister of Israel)

"The Technion has been a beacon of learning in our region."
The late King Hussein of Jordan



The Technion

As Israel's oldest and premier institute of science and technology, the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology has been an active and leading participant in Israel's establishment and development. With supreme effort and unyielding dedication, deserts have bloomed, swamps have been transformed into fertile agricultural valleys, and sand has given way to silicon. Israel is now recognized as one of the world's most prominent high-tech innovators, and has been called the second Silicon Valley.



Technion Graduates

Technion graduates over the last century have been one of the single most substantial forces propelling the country forward, committed to ensuring a bright and prosperous future.

Technion’s more than 90,000 graduates comprise 70 percent of the leaders of the high-tech workforce and have created Israel’s industrial infrastructure, reinforced its defense capabilities, and pioneered its technology-based enterprises. As a result, Israel has the highest concentration of high-tech start-up companies anywhere outside the Silicon Valley.

International giants such as Google, Yahoo!, Intel and IBM, have been attracted to set up R&D facilities in Haifa in order to recruit quality Technion graduates. Technion alumni have devised the world’s first wireless technology microprocessors; first intestinal pill camera; first stand-alone, anti-ballistic missile defense system; leading Internet search engines; the largest reverse osmosis desalination plant in the world and much more.



Unforgettable Decades:

1920s  -  Founding the Future
1930s  -  Charting the Unknown
1940s  -  Citizen of the World
1950s  -  A Move Uphill
1960s  -  Turning International and Interdisciplinary
1970s  -  Turbulent Times
1980s  -  The Rise of High-Tech
1990s  -  Reaching for the Stars and Beyond
2000  -  No Stopping at the Top



1920s - Founding the Future


Dr. Albert Einstein visiting a Technion workshop with other honored guests, February 1923. 		After some years of intense pioneering activities, with which Prof. Albert Einstein's deep involvement, the Technion opened its doors in 1924, becoming Israel’s first modern university.

The first undergraduate class consisted of 17 students in two areas of instruction; Civil Engineering and Architecture.

After serious debate, the language of instruction was chosen to be Hebrew, as opposed to German.

The impact of the first Jewish university in an embryonic Jewish state brought about a vital link between the two.

In 1924 the following Faculties were established:
Civil Engineering [renamed Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering]
Architecture [renamed Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning]



1930s - Charting the Unknown


Students at a lecture (1930s). 		In the 1930s, the Institute absorbed large numbers of Jewish students and distinguished scholars from Poland, Germany and Austria, who were fleeing the Nazi regime.

In the midst of immense financial difficulties, Technion staff voted to work temporarily without pay to ensure the Technion's economic survival.

By the late 1930s the demand for technical university graduates had increased.

Enrollment exceeded 400 students, and the University had expanded to include a degree in industrial engineering, 11 labs and a nautical school.

In 1934 the Faculty of Industrial Technology was established covering broad fields. In time, fields of study taught at the Faculty of Industrial Technology were made into independent faculties.



1940s - Citizen of the World


Students getting "hands-on" experience in the workshop. 		In the years preceding the establishment of the State, Technion was an active center for the Jewish underground and a source of technological defense solutions crucial to the struggle for independence.

In 1948, with a student body of 680, Technion celebrated Israel's Declaration of Independence.

The developing state created new demands on the veteran university. To meet these needs, Technion launched a variety of ambitious projects, including the establishment of the Department of Aeronautical Engineering in 1949, which laid the foundation for Israel’s successful aerospace industries and insurmountable Air Force.

From electricity to telephone networks, from founding industries to producing rapid housing to meet the demands of immigration, Technion was the powerhouse behind the evolution of the state.

In the 1940s the following Faculties were established:
Faculty of Electrical Engineering (1948);
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering (1948).



1950s - A Move Uphill


Looking ahead – Major General Moshe Dayan, IDF Chief-of-Staff, visits Technion's new campus, received by Prof. Y. Ratner, Technion Vice-President (1958). Major General Dayan emphasized that the defense and security of the country also depends upon engineers and applied scientists. 		This decade ushered in an era of expansion for the Technion.

By 1951, undergraduate enrollment had grown to 966 pupils.

When the original campus in central Haifa became too small, Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion selected a 300-acre site on Mount Carmel for a new campus.

In 1953, the Institute began its move to Technion City on Mount Carmel.

By the end of the decade, Technion had expanded to include the Technion Research and Development Foundation, the Graduate School, and faculties in Agricultural Engineering, Chemistry and Industrial Engineering and Management.

In the 1950s the following Faculties were founded:

Department of Aeronautical Engineering (1953)[renamed Faculty of Aerospace Engineering];
Faculty of Agricultural Engineering (1953);
Faculty of Chemical Engineering (1954);
Faculty of Chemistry (1958);
General Studies (1958) [renamed Department of Humanities and Arts];
Faculty of Industrial Engineering and Management (1958).



1960s – Turning International and Interdisciplinary


Students from developing countries plant trees in memory of Technion students who fell during the Six-Day War. 		During the 1960s, the Technion opened its doors to hundreds of students from the developing countries of Africa and Asia.

Scores of Technion faculty members provided technological assistance to various countries worldwide, often under the auspices of United Nations agencies.

Recognizing the growing trend in interdisciplinary activity, Technion established several new departments, including Biomedical Engineering, Computer Science, Applied Mathematics, and the Solid State Institute.

In 1969, Technion established the Faculty of Medicine, one of the few medical schools worldwide to be affiliated with an institute of technology.

In the 1960s the following faculties were established:
Faculty of Mathematics (1960);
Faculty of Physics (1960);
Faculty of Food Engineering and Biotechnology (1962);
Department of Education in Technology and Science (1965);
Faculty of Materials Engineering (1967);
Department of Biomedical Engineering (1969);
Faculty of Medicine (1969);
Faculty of Computer Science (1969).



1970s – Turbulent Times


Giant Solar Collector planned and designed by Technion Faculty members and used for solar research. 		The 1970s in Israel were marked by extremes – from the trauma and tragedy of the Yom Kippur War to the optimism and hope of Israel's peace agreement with Egypt.

Throughout the upheaval and change, Technion remained at the forefront of the nation's activities – from producing technologies for guaranteeing Israel's future security, to planning cooperative regional research projects in subjects such as desalination and nuclear energy.

The establishment of the Samuel Neaman Institute for Advanced Studies in Science and Technology at the Technion in 1978 further encouraged the interaction of academia, industry and government.

In 1971 the Faculty of Biology was established.



1980s – The Rise of High-Tech


Graduate students experiment with light in the Optoelectronics Center of Excellence. 		In the 1980s, Technion-based research paved the way for the rapid expansion of Israel’s high-tech industries.

From the birth of fiber-optics and the development of optoelectronics, Technion graduates were, and continue to be, at the forefront of technological innovations.

In the 1980s, Technion's world-wide reputation for excellence was strengthened through intensified research in various fields spanning from nuclear power options for Israel to a new program in marine engineering, and pioneer work in the field of industrial robotics.



1990s – Reaching for the Stars


Gurwin TechSat II: A micro- satellite designed and built by Technion students (successfully in orbit 1998-2010). 		In the early '90s, massive immigration from the former Soviet Union boosted the student population from 9,000 to 10,500.

In order to meet the growing demand for highly trained engineers and scientists, Technion has committed itself to increasing enrollment to 15,000 by the year 2004.

Multidisciplinary centers of excellence were established, ties with industry were strengthened, new academic programs were developed, and a massive campus expansion program was launched, including construction of The Henry and Marilyn Taub and Family Science and Technology Center, which houses the western world's largest computer science faculty.

In 1998, Technion successfully launched the "Gurwin TechSat II" microsatellite, making Technion one of five universities with a student program that designs, builds, and launches its own satellite.



2000 and beyond – No Stopping at the Top


Tackling the challenges of a new millennium –the Technion is committed to ensuring a bright future. 		As Israel strives to maintain its economic independence, it recognizes, as do other nations, that a strong economy depends closely upon the education of its citizens.

The Technion and its graduates have risen to this challenge, providing the creative edge and the know-how to build the economy.

Technion graduates comprise the majority of Israeli-educated scientists and engineers, and constitute over 70% of the country’s high-tech industry's founders and managers.  These sectors are growing at phenomenal rates, and are driving the country's burgeoning exports.

They will clearly continue to play a key role in shaping the country's economic independence.

In the twenty-first century, Technion graduates will reach new heights as they search to meet the towering challenges of the new millennium.

From environmental issues, biotechnology and genetics to the frontiers of cyberspace and outer space, Technion researchers are committed to securing a bright and prosperous future.