Technion – Israel Institute of Technology

The Technion – Israel Institute of Technology (הטכניון – מכון טכנולוגי לישראל; Arabic: التخنيون - معهد إسرائيل للتكنولوجيا) is a public research university located in Haifa, Israel. Established in 1912 under the dominion of the Ottoman Empire, the Technion is the oldest university in the country. The Technion is ranked as one of the top universities in both Israel and the Middle East, and in the world's top 100 universities in the 2022 Academic Ranking of World Universities. The university offers degrees in science and engineering, and related fields such as architecture, medicine, industrial management, and education. It has 19 academic departments, 60 research centers, and 12 affiliated teaching hospitals. Since its founding, it has awarded more than 123,000 degrees and its graduates are cited for providing the skills and education behind the creation and protection of the State of Israel. Technion's 565 faculty members include three Nobel Laureates in chemistry. Four Nobel Laureates have been associated with the university. The current president of the Technion is Uri Sivan. The selection of Hebrew as the language of instruction, defeating German in the War of the Languages, was an important milestone in Hebrew's consolidation as Israel's official language. The Technion is also a major factor behind the growth of Israel's high-tech industry and innovation, including the country's technical cluster in Silicon Wadi. History of the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology The Technikum was conceived in the early 1900s by the German-Jewish fund Ezrah as a school of engineering and sciences. It was to be the only institution of higher learning in the then Ottoman Palestine, other than the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem (founded in 1907). In October 1913, the board of trustees selected German as the language of instruction, provoking a major controversy known as the War of the Languages. After opposition from American and Russian Jews to the use of German, the board of trustees reversed itself in February 1914 and selected Hebrew as the language of instruction.