REICHMAN UNIVERSITY AND GOOGLE LAUNCH HI-TECH SCHOOL TO PROMOTE DIVERSITY IN ISRAELI TECH

Reichman University and Google have partnered to establish the Hi-Tech School, a program aimed at promoting diversity and equal opportunities in the Israeli tech industry. The school was founded in October 2022 with a mission to empower candidates based on their individual skills and potential, while removing social barriers. By doing so, the school hopes to create a smarter, better, and more diverse industry tomorrow.

The Israeli high-tech industry is the country’s largest engine of growth, making the establishment of the Hi-Tech School a vital step toward promoting social mobility and introducing high-quality, skilled, and capable human capital into tech. The school is committed to providing equal opportunities to every person seeking to contribute to the industry.

The Hi-Tech School aims to reach out to underrepresented populations in Israeli high-tech, including women, the ultra-Orthodox, Arabs, members of the Ethiopian community, and people from the geo-social periphery. The program is delivered in a hybrid format, with courses taking place at the Google for Startups Campus in Tel Aviv and Reichman University in Herzliya. Future courses are planned to be held in the north and south of the country.

The school offers a portfolio of various technological and business courses for entry-level positions currently in high demand in the Israeli tech market. These include programming, QA, business development, sales, data analysis, and more. Every course spans several weeks to several months, with approximately 60 students participating in each.

The courses comprise core academic studies, along with up-to-date professional training based on industry demands and standards. The program offers academic supervision, and some courses provide academic credits that can be used in the future towards an academic degree. The program also provides support to ensure high-quality placements and integration into the workforce.

In March 2023, the first cohort of full-stack web developers completed their training, and all participants are now in the process of integrating into development roles in the industry. Registration is currently open for additional technological and business programs, and the Hi-Tech School aims to have 3,000 talented students over the next five years.

Gali Shahar Efrat, General Manager of Google Reichman Tech School, commented on the partnership, stating, “In our view, identifying potential, imparting quality education, and integrating academia and industry will open many doors for our participants. By establishing the school, we are providing high-quality and local human capital, which will help shape Israeli tech’s future.”

The Hi-Tech School is a crucial step towards creating a more diverse and inclusive tech industry in Israel. By providing equal opportunities and removing social barriers, the school hopes to enable talented individuals from all backgrounds to contribute to the growth of the industry and the Israeli economy as a whole.

With Prof. Uriel Reichman, Founding President of Reichman University; Prof. Rafi Melnick, President of Reichman University; Prof. Yossi Matias (Vice President of Google, and founding Managing Director of Google Center Israel; Barak Regev, Country Director (GM) of Google IL; Dr. Ayelet Ben-Ezer, CEO and Vice President of Reichman University; Gali Shahar Efrat, GM of Google and Reichman Hi-Tech School; and the Hi-Tech School’s management and operations team