Israel Active

Israel’s next school year will include a new government program that will include computer science, robotics and other fields of study to equip students for future employment in hi-tech. It will launch in middle-schools and will be integrated into elementary schools and eventually in kindergartens.

Israeli non-profit Scale-Up Velocity has launched its Cyber4s program for Israelis finishing IDF combat service. It trains them for a smooth and speedy transition into employment in the hi-tech sector. Its second group of 40 students will graduate mid-July.

Israel’s ITC – Intelligent Traffic Control (see previously) has now successfully tested its smart traffic light technology in Israel and overseas. In this article, the two Ben Gurion University graduate founders tell their story. The system saves time, fuel, emissions and accidents.

Israel’s Netafim, the world’s pioneer and leading drip irrigation specialist, has launched its AlphaDisc filter to protect irrigation systems against clogging caused by organic contaminants. Its remote sensing system and algorithms also provide farmers with online data and insights.

Israel’s BlueGreen Water Technologies (see previously) has been named the Global Water Awards “2021 Breakthrough Technology Company of the Year” by Global Water Intelligence (GWI). BlueGreen has transformed cyanobacteria (toxic blue-green algae blooms) treatment.

In the first study of its kind, researchers at Israel’s Bar-Ilan University have shown that covering the facades of buildings with plants can reduce temperatures indoors by several degrees in the summer and increase them in winter. The process is called evapotranspiration, which also purifies the air.

Israel’s Doral Energy (see previously) is partnering Israel’s Technion Institute in green projects. They include the areas of renewable energy, energy storage, integration of agriculture and solar energy, hydrogen production, carbon capture, waste treatment, water, and environmental infrastructure.

There were 4 winners of the 2021 Space Florida-Israel Innovation Partnership Program. They include an antenna for satellites (MTI); nanoparticle materials to cool down objects using sunlight; recycling plastic into radiation protection vests; and thermal imaging for microsatellites.

CSRankings, the leading metrics-based ranking of top computer science institutions around the world, has ranked the Technion in first place in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Europe, and 15th worldwide. In the subfield of machine learning, the Technion is ranked 11th worldwide.

Israel’s IDE Water Technologies has launched the Afikey Maim reclamation plant – a first of its kind brackish/surface water reverse osmosis (BWRO) plant in Israel. It will transform 2 million cubic meters a year of polluted water from the southern Jordan River.