For the first time, high school students in Israel will be able to study and access matriculation in physics with an emphasis on space studies. The new program, an initiative of the Israel Space Agency in the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, entered the textbooks already this year, as an option that teachers can offer as part of the extended physics studies (5 study units). In the coming years, it will occupy a more extensive place in physics studies, which approximately 41 thousand male and female students study each year. Space studies in schools that choose to teach in this space program will make up 30%-45% of the studies of the expanded subject (about a unit and a half in practice).
The program is part of an extensive vision of the Israel Space Agency, to make the field of space accessible to students in order to encourage them to engage in the field in the future. Because already today the space industries are in the midst of booming on a global scale. “The new space” is an expression that characterizes this trend in the world’s space industries, thanks to the cheapening of launches and the opening of the field to more and more civilian uses. And so a field that until a few years ago was reserved only for the world’s great powers, who used space mainly for intelligence and communication infrastructure needs, is becoming more and more accessible to the business and academic sectors.
At the Israel Space Agency, the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology recognized the tremendous potential, and in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, developed a teaching unit for matriculation in the field of space. Through this unique program, students will acquire knowledge and experience that will enable them to integrate into the promising industry. The program, developed by the Center for Scientific and Technological Education of Tel Aviv University, consists of studies in 3 main fields: astronomy, space exploration and space and satellite engineering.
The program enters the curriculum after the completion of a successful pilot in which 60 pioneering women and educators from around the country participated, including educators from Midrash Ben Gurion in the Negev, Shamshit in the Lower Galilee, Ashkelon, Nahariya, Lod, Migdal Hamek, Kiryat Bialik and Hadera.
Gadi Arieli, Director General of the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology said that “the cooperation with the Ministry of Education in promoting the field of space as part of physics studies in high schools is a matter of great pride. Studies in the field of space as part of physics studies, as well as the ‘Students Build Satellites’ program of the Israel Space Agency, We are joining the efforts of the Ministry of Innovation to cultivate technological human capital in the various high-tech fields. The Ministry of Innovation will continue to promote programs to encourage excellence and progress at all ages, in the series of our educational programs in the various fields of science in schools, camps, and informal education settings.”