BGU | Fundraising Handbook

researchers whose work requires a lab and diverse specialized resources to other researchers. Each new faculty member must trust that in partnering with BGU, both their future and the future of the University is bright. An institution that thoughtfully invests in its facilities and infrastructure, as well as its human resources, is developing, advancing, and building for the future. Faculty members have a dual role, pursuing research and teaching. Educating Israel’s future leaders and workforce demands skilled educators capable of providing our students with the knowledge and skills needed for their chosen fields. Currently, educational paradigms are constantly evolving, the student population is diverse, and research findings and technological advancements necessitate frequent curriculum changes. The days of relying solely on frontal lectures and written exams are gone. Today’s students are technologically savvy and device-oriented; they are eager to learn and equally eager to put what they learn into practice; and reading is just one of the many ways in which they take in the myriad information they are exposed to each day. Educating students depends on engaging students. Becoming a magnet for talent, and the subsequent inspire, and guide BGU students – requires significant investment in classroom enhancement and teaching technologies, as well as in laboratories and scientific equipment. BGU’s Commitment to Investing in Research and Teaching Infrastructure and Technologies As one of Israel’s nine public universities, BGU’s primary tasks are teaching and research. Our faculty members play a large role in performing these tasks, and the University is committed to ensuring that they have access to the tools required to execute them. The work of all faculty members, but particularly of new recruits, relies on the presence of academic and scientific infrastructure, often in the form of a research lab, and the availability of the relevant equipment. While the nature of each lab and the specific equipment needed varies, fundamentally researchers need a dedicated space that is conducive to conducting their research and the equipment needed to perform that work at the highest level. This is a dynamic process, since the University is required to update and purchase retention of outstanding faculty members and researchers – those who will engage, educate,

new, more advanced equipment on a regular basis as new technologies and more powerful and specialized equipment continue to emerge. In addition to the equipment and instrumentation in individual research labs, there is often a need to invest in major pieces of equipment that facilitate the work of multiple researchers across disciplines. Such equipment increases BGU’s overall research capacity and becomes an integral component in the University’s scientific infrastructure. Like classrooms, labs are critical components in teaching, and there is a need to construct and equip state-of-the-art teaching labs and classrooms. Students’ ability to gain the necessary knowledge and expertise needed to succeed in their chosen fields depends on this. But the need doesn’t end there. Educating the next generation of professionals and problem-solvers requires exceptional educators and facilities. New teaching technologies and paradigms have the potential to transform education and the educational experience, and BGU is eager to employ them. The pandemic demonstrated the need for ingenuity and flexibility in teaching and familiarity with digital tools in the classroom and modes of education; and the educational landscape continues to evolve. BGU is committed to adopting new approaches, technologies, and paradigms as an institution and ensuring their integration into the curriculum and adoption by our faculty members. Doing so will enable the University to fulfill its teaching responsibilities, just as the establishment and equipping of labs will enable it to fulfill its research responsibilities. Laboratories, Equipment, and Professional Development: Realizing the Full Potential of Our Students and Faculty Members BGU’s students and faculty members are its greatest human resources. Their roles are deeply connected, with faculty members being the primary source of the education our students receive at the University and students driving the research performed in faculty members’ labs. Investment in classroom enhancement and teaching technologies and professional development/training will promote excellence in teaching and the adoption of innovative teaching, learning, and assessment processes at BGU. New teaching methods and diverse pedagogical approaches will also help adapt teaching processes to

CAPITAL FUNDING PROJECTS

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LABS, CLASSROOMS, AND EQUIPMENT