The "Atidim in Industry" program- the wind beneath Israel Fanta's wings

HIT's academic-social agenda is manifested in its vision to make higher education accessible to each and every student. It focuses, amongh other things, on developing study programs for special population groups such as Immigrants from France, Belgium, Ukraine, Russia, Ethiopia etc.

The story of, Israel Fanta, a student of Ethiopian decent, demonstrates perfectly the implementation of the school's agenda.

Fanta, a third year student at the Electrical and Electronics Engineering department at HIT's Faculty of Engineering is the recipient of "Atidim in industry" scholarship, which combines studies with community service.

"I cannot say enough about the major contribution of "Atidim In industry" project to my success at school"' says Fanta. "Thanks to "Atidim", I can focus completely on my studies, since it provides me with a huge assistance with my daily life. In addition, the center for academic accessibility at HIT accompanies me in every way and I'm grateful for that"

As part of his scholarship, Israel Fanta has to devote time to community service, which he had chosen to do at the "Jesse Cohen" neighborhood in Holon, an area which is characterized by very low- income residents.

"I chose to do my community work there, because I hope that through these meetings, those kids will dare to dream and aspire high. My scholarship requires 60 hours per year of volunteer work and I've chosen to do it there.

I assist these kids with their homework, prepare with them for school tests etc. "Jesse Cohen" neighborhood has a large Ethiopian community whose children look up to me as a role model, and something to aspire to. I look at it as my reward".

Israel's big dream, as a young child, was to be a professional soccer player. However, he was also fascinated by electronics and computers and so after he had completed his military service, he decided to take that path and make soccer just a hobby.

He started out as a practical engineer and when he wanted to pursue an academic degree, he chose HIT.

During his studies he also works as a research assistant to prof. Motti Haridim, HIT's vice president of academic development, at the SAR lab at HIT.

"We deal with measuring radiation, simulations, building and measuring antennas for big customers such as ITL and IDF who use HIT's facilities.

Recently, Fanta had returned from a RFID conference in France, where he represented HIT together with his colleague Maya Helfman.

The conference attendance was made possible thanks to a grant by University of Grenoble Alpes that hosted the conference. "Being there with other students and young professors really enhanced my desire to pursue a higher academic degree and develop- as much as I can- in the field I'm researching", he concludes.

When asked about his future plans, Fanta replies that after graduation he would like to work in one of the Israeli security and defense industries, but he's also considering an academic career.

The "Atidim in Industry" program encourages young adults who completed their military or national service to pursue a Bachelor's degree in Engineering and the Sciences, enjoy significant financial sponsorships and intern in various companies and industries throughout Israel. The "hands on" experience gained by the participants provides a stepping stone into the leading technological industries in Israel.