Informing
Policy
for Progress

October 2012

Practical Engineering is an area for outstanding students – not just for weak candidates

Orit Hazzan

Why is the field of practical engineering considered rewarding, suffers from a lack of workers – and why public school students are prevented from enrollment? According to work published by Forum 120, initiated by Prof. Uzi Arad, in Israel there is a shortage of engineers and practical engineers and consequently there are a fear of productivity. The question is asked is how to improve the situation, for practical engineering schools do not set a high entry barrier and almost all who are interested can learn the trade. Moreover, the work is rewarding, both professionally and financially.

September 2012

Tycoons in trouble

Shlomo Maital

The tycoons’ woes threaten the stability of Israel’s largest banks and the economy itself.

September 2012

Haifa’s smart green building

Shlomo Maital

With the planet firmly in the grip of undeniable climate change, technology gurus have embraced a solution.

September 2012

The screwed generation

Shlomo Maital

 Young Israelis have become increasingly poor, squeezed by rising housing costs and higher taxes.

September 2012

Threaten Or Deal

Shlomo Maital

The old-fashioned ‘threaten’ game prevails over ‘deal’ in peacemaking effort due to the fact that economics is global, capital is global, trade is global but politics is local.

August 2012

Crushed ice against fire? The need to prepare for climate change

Ofira Ayalon

When it is warm in Italy, not only girls are shown on the beach, but the media also discusses how to improve health and infrastructure systems to cope with extreme weather changes

August 2012

Italy: plant contaminated, the government will pay

Ofira Ayalon

The most polluting industrial plant in Italy was shut down, but only temporarily. To prevent an additional 12000 unemployed, the government decided to invest approximately 300 million euros for corrective actions.
On this issue, Italy can learn from the experience of Israeli.

August 2012

Warp speed for networks

Shlomo Maital

Mellanox hardware can transfer a hundred 2,600-page Encyclopedia Britannica’s every second.