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Dodkin
(Herzl Yosef)
Daria Dodkin (34) develops software at Rafael’s branch in Be’er Sheva, calls women to believe in themselves and dare. “I immigrated to Israel at the age of 18 when the direction was academic studies,” says Dodkin (34), a resident of Be’er Sheva. “I didn’t know Hebrew and my limitation in the language was significant. I decided to go in the direction of mathematics and technology, since it is an international language. The process took time and I only connected to the profession in the middle of my degree studies, but since then I have really loved the studies and the work.”
Rafael came to Dodkin with a resume that includes ten years of experience in the software field, and five years as head of a development team at another hi-tech company.
What do you do as part of your job?
“I have been working at Rafael for a year and a half. Before that I worked at other hi-tech companies. Basically, what I can share is that I work on air defense systems. I feel that I am at the forefront of technology and at the forefront of protecting the country. We use the newest technologies in the world of software and work at the same time With lots of different disciplines, which didn’t happen to me at other workplaces, so the technological challenge here is fascinating, enriching and also challenges me every day.”
What is the state of the hi-tech industry in the Negev?
“As soon as I started to sort myself out at Rafael, I wanted this job. There are many options in the Negev. There are new start-ups, there are jobs in high-tech in the Negev. Me and all my friends work and we don’t feel the need to look for work in the center.”
How do you combine a demanding occupation like hi-tech with a personal life?
“I am in a relationship. I have many hobbies. I like running, pilates and tennis. The whole high-tech world here in the Negev is a young world, and I feel that I am constantly interacting with interesting people. On the one hand, there is a fun social life here at work, and on the other Second, in my workplace it is very important to combine leisure and personal well-being and we put emphasis on it.”
As for the integration of women in the high-tech world, Daria Dodkin has an important message. “If you decide to do something, no matter how difficult it is, just go for it and invest. In the end it will reward and pay off,” she emphasizes and adds, “Believe in yourself that you can. Don’t look for excuses why not, look for an opportunity to do as much as possible. For everyone One has barriers, language, family and more, but in the end you have to get up and take action.”
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Halpon Groh
(Herzl Yosef)
Joel Halfon Groh (31), married and mother of a baby, resident of Beersheba, algorithm and situational awareness engineer, has been working for a year at Rafael’s branch in Beersheba. “I studied at the Technion for my bachelor’s and master’s degrees, both in biomedical engineering, but the circumstances of life brought me to Be’er Sheva,” says Halfon Groh. “I came to Rafael quite by accident. I was contacted two months after I gave birth, between breastfeeding, when the interviewer, who is now my boss, was not frightened by this very fact. I realized that I had a golden opportunity here to integrate into a workplace that sees the employee as a set of characteristics from his talent and creativity to being a parent “.
How is this expressed in practice?
“We have a wonderful organizational culture here and endless flexibility. Of course, the fact that it takes me six minutes to walk to work in the morning only adds to all this goodness.”
Why hi-tech?
“I had no doubt that I would want to work in high-tech. Originally, I meant the medical industry and biotech – areas of medical equipment for diagnosis or treatment, such as MRI or CT machines. When I arrived in the Negev, my range of options in general, and in the medical industry, in particular, was significantly reduced. Tech in Be’er Sheva is a good start. Although it is not enough to say that the Negev region is a fertile ground for the high-tech industry, there is definitely potential.”
As for the combination of high-tech work and personal life, Halfon Groh states, “I don’t feel that my work is demanding. I think I was lucky, certainly after the journey I went through, to find a workplace that I really enjoy coming to, that really interests me in doing my work. The multidisciplinarity and touching on a huge variety of systems and issues is not taken for granted. I have wonderful managers who also know how to respect private time.”
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Alaa Alkrinawi
(Herzl Yosef)
Elkarinawi, a resident of Rahat, a researcher and laboratory technician at the Fungit company located in the InNegev greenhouse, thinks that the Negev region is an excellent place for the high-tech industry. For Alkarinawi (26), married and the mother of two children, this is her first year of work after graduating from Biotechnology Engineering at Sapir College.
“I got connected to the high-tech field when I was in high school,” she says. “I loved the laboratories and understanding what the forces are that drive the processes of biology and chemistry in the world. Each new piece of information felt like a new reality that was revealed to me. The high-tech field provides a lot of interest and knowledge that is constantly renewed and manifested in front of my eyes in the laboratory. It is satisfying.”
How fertile is the Negev region for the hi-tech industry?
“In my opinion, the Negev is an excellent place for the field of high-tech. Precisely from the hard Negev soil, all the parties and partners, including the InNegev incubator, work diligently to bring technological fruits in the field of agro-tech and food-tech from our region to the wider world.”
How do you combine your personal life with a demanding occupation like hi-tech?
“Really, this work never ends. As soon as I go home and outside of work, I constantly think about the lab and the experiments we performed. I have a lot of space to express my ideas, so it’s worth thinking about. Outside of work, most of the time is devoted to my family, My husband and our two lovely children, but I also find time to continue my studies at Sapir College for a degree in industrial engineering and management. In this job, I am constantly thinking about the laboratory and the experiments. When I have free time, I like to read new articles in the field of biotechnology.”
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Ginzburg and Voknin
(Herzl Yosef)
Ilana Ginzburg Voknin (43), a resident of Be’er Sheva and mother of four children, serves as the Vice President of Human Resources at “Rezillion”, and is proud to work for a high-tech company that chose Be’er Sheva as its headquarters.
“We are the most Zionist startup in Israel,” she notes. “In 2014, the entrepreneurs Shlomi Botnero and Liran Tankman established their first startup in Beer Sheva. Both of them are not in Beer Sheva and they chose the Negev out of ideology. After 14 months, the company made an exit when it was purchased by PayPal Global. Shlomi and Liran managed the company’s development center Rezillion is actually the second start-up of those entrepreneurs that was once again established in Beersheba out of faith in Beersheba and the Negev. Today we have employees in Israel and the United States, and there is no one prouder and happier than me to lead the field of the company’s human capital.”
For nine years, Ginzburg Voknin has been working in the high-tech industry, and for her, these have been nine happy years, full of action, learning and growth.
Why did you choose high-tech?
“I came to the high-tech field after 12 amazing years at the Jewish Agency, which was a home for me. I wanted to try a new field and I came to this field without understanding a single concept. For the purpose, I checked the concept of cyber on Wikipedia. I worked very hard, I was blessed with amazing managers, a supportive ecosystem and colleagues who are friends for life” .
What is it like to work in hi-tech in the Negev?
“I am a patriotic local and wholeheartedly believe in Beer Sheva and the Negev. I refuse to call our region a periphery, and believe that it is an area with huge potential, some of which has been realized and some of which must be realized. The Hi-Tech Park is one of the proofs of this.”
How do you combine a demanding high-tech job with a personal life?
“The position is very demanding. I start the day early with the workers in Israel and finish it late with the workers in the United States. I change hats all day long. Vice President of Human Resources in a global company, mother of four, public activist, lecturer, and leader of workshops on leadership, development managers and human resources. I define myself as a happy person. I get up to an exciting, fascinating and challenging job and return to my family, which is the essence and foundation. I believe in hard work, I believe in processes. Creativity and stepping out of the comfort zone are what make us succeed and grow.”
The protest against the legal reform did not escape the hi-techists either. When asked about it, Ginzburg Voknin says, “I ask not to enter politics. I am proud to work in a company where entrepreneurs, after they made an exit, could establish a company anywhere in the world. They establish their startup again in Be’er Sheva out of faith in the Negev. Like this Looks like Zionism.”
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Rodoy Silberman
(Herzl Yosef)
Alina Rodoi Zilberman (36), a resident of Mitar, has only been working in the high-tech field for about a year and serves as a project manager in a product group at the company MdClone, which operates in the Negev high-tech park “Gev Yam” in Be’er Sheva. “Entering the high-tech world was a unique combination between my background in clinical research and my experience in managing projects and working with diverse interfaces,” she says and adds, “In the high-tech world, the work environment and organizational culture puts the employee at the center, and enables growth and development on a personal and professional level “.
From Rodoi Zilberman’s point of view, “The high-tech industry in the Negev has developed a lot in recent years, but we still have room to continue increasing the employment opportunities in the region to allow people to work close to home, thus supporting an optimal balance between home and the workplace.”
How do you create this balance?
“The flexibility at work and the interfaces with foreign countries enable quality time with the family during the relevant hours, on the one hand, and the possibility to continue working in the evenings, on the other hand.”
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French
(Herzl Yosef)
It’s been 10 years since Sharon Sarfati (36), a resident of Be’er Sheva, has been an operations manager at the Finsec innovation laboratory of “Mastercard” and “Anal” which operates in the high-tech park “Gev Yam” Negev in Be’er Sheva. According to her, she wanted to work in an interesting and challenging field that affects all areas of life
“The world is becoming more and more digital and controlled by computers, and it was important for me to be in a position where I could make a significant impact on my life and those around me,” she explains why she chose to work in high-tech. “In a world where technology is such a significant element, high-tech is the means of influencing the future of our children. During my undergraduate studies, I fell in love with the field of information systems. The ability to make strategic and marketing decisions attracted me very much. When I graduated, the high-tech park had just opened in Be’er Sheva and was I have the opportunity to play a role in a company that has just arrived in Be’er Sheva and built its entire system in the city.”
What is unique about the high-tech world?
“The field of high-tech is very interesting, very challenging and produces an impact on many areas of life. For the past two years, I have been managing the entire operation system at Mastercard and Anal’s Pinsk innovation laboratory. The position allows me to take part and work with young companies in important fields such as cyber and fintech, which change and influence about the processes of our daily lives”.
What is Beer Sheva’s place in the Israeli hi-tech industry?
“Beer Sheva has enormous potential as a metropolis to become the capital of cyber and entrepreneurship. The city has significant anchors such as academic centers, such as Ben-Gurion University and Sami Shimon College. The Negev is a platform for innovation and technological initiatives and in my view, from a national-strategic, economic and social point of view, the promotion and development of the hi-tech industry Tech and cyber in the Negev is an extremely important goal.”
What do you think about the high-tech joining the protest against the legal reform?
“I believe that big changes need to be made through dialogue and broad agreement. In the high-tech world, we run at a very fast pace, but we also know how to stop and talk when it’s important and concerning key aspects, and orderly processes have meaning.”
What about combining the demanding high-tech world with personal life?
“Challenging. Time management is a very important skill in order to balance home and work. The workplace, flexibility in hours and partnership in managing the household are factors that greatly help the sense of balance.”
Do you have a tip on this?
“My tip for balance is to incorporate more family and friend time into your weekly schedule, actually put it in the diary, and establish them as just as important as business meetings.”