FROM THE DESK OF PROF. AMI MOYAL, PRESIDENT OF AFEKA COLLEGE Dear friends, Afeka Academic College of Engineering in Tel Aviv is expanding its socioeconomic revolution — and we need your help to make our vision a reality. This is your chance to strengthen the national resilience of the start-up nation. We are embarking on the ambitious initiative of building a new campus, strategically located in the underdeveloped YadEliyahu neighborhood of south-east Tel Aviv — one of the lowest socioeconomic regions in the city, that is lacking in commercial opportunities and community facilities. This project carries immense national, social, economic and urban importance. It will transform the entire south of the city, cultivating an ecosystem of inextricable connection between higher education, the preK-12 school system and industry, while serving as a catalyst for local rejuvenation. The impact of this campus will be felt not only in Tel Aviv but nationwide. Engineers are the true force behind Israel’s high-tech industry. In order for the country tomaintain its international status, grow its economy and increase exports, we need engineers who will develop life-changing, life-saving technologies. Yet today, there is an estimated shortage of 13,000 engineers and software developers in Israel. Over the past five years we have been able to increase Afeka’s student body by nearly 50%. Our new and larger campus will enable us to grow an additional ~50% and integrate 1000 newengineers annually into Israel’s high-tech industry, while providing a platform for the best engineering education available in the country — a spacious, modern campus featuring learning spaces and activities that encourage creativity and innovation, newand relevant teachingmethods, and cutting-edge instruction laboratories and applied research centers. Simultaneously, moving our leading academic institution to an underdeveloped neighborhoodwill bridge societal gaps, bringing an influx of students, faculty, commerce and facilities to the area. The newcampus will build a unique socio-economic-educational ecosystem that promotes excellence and innovation in science and technology as a basis for social mobility. The newdormitories on the campus, meanwhile, will provide much-needed access for the social periphery in the city and region. We have completed plans for the initial phase of construction, featuring four buildings (16,160 squaremeters), an 8,000-squaremeter parking lot and a 500-square-meter commercial space on a 25,000-square-meter campus. At a total estimated cost of $85 million, we are now beginning the construction which is scheduled for completion by the end of 2025. Crucially, the campus represents a shared vision between Afeka and the Tel Avivmunicipality. In addition to substantial support provided by the municipality, the project is supported by the government of Israel, through the Council for Higher Education and the Planning and Budgeting Committee. PARTNER WITH US ENERGIZE THE START-UP NATION AND TRANSFORM SOUTH TEL AVIV 2
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