BGU | PRESIDENT'S REPORT 2022

Life Sciences

Research Day

the circumstances, the Unit for Improving the Quality of Teaching and Learning, under the directorship of Dr. Michal Erez, developed high-quality tutorials for online teaching and, in general, has done a stellar job in providing our teaching staff with the feedback they need to improve their teaching. However, I felt that we needed to send a clearer message to the BGU community about the importance of teaching, and to this end, I appointed a Pro-Rector for Teaching, Prof. Timor Melamed from the School of Electrical Engineering. Together with the Unit’s staff, Prof. Melamed has taken on overall responsibility for teaching quality and students’ satisfaction surveys, as well as coordination with the faculties and lecturers. Most academic departments now have a teaching coordinator who is engaged with the Unit and is responsible for arranging activities within the department focused on the quality of teaching. There is also a more structured mentorship process in place for lecturers experiencing problems with their teaching. We are learning to live with the coronavirus. While the last two years have shown that we can keep the University functioning, the frequent changes necessitated by the peaks and troughs of the pandemic have made any long-term planning challenging. Yet, at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev we thrive on challenges. Our unique Israeli spirit and ability to work together toward a common goal allow us to do incredible things and I am sure that the coming year will be a great example of that.

established School for Sustainability and Climate Change , the revamped School of Brain Sciences and Cognition , and the much-changed Program for Statistics and Data Analysis . This new unit allows us to break down administrative and academic barriers and encourage researchers from diverse departments and faculties to cooperate in teaching programs, graduate supervision, and research projects. AT BEN-GURION UNIVERSITY OF THE NEGEV WE THRIVE ON CHALLENGES. OUR UNIQUE ISRAELI SPIRIT AND ABILITY TO WORK TOGETHER TOWARD A COMMON GOAL ALLOW US TO DO INCREDIBLE THINGS Teaching is an essential part of our job description and one way for our faculty to attract the best and brightest graduate students. Hence, developing interesting courses using new technologies, having the tools to be innovative and getting students involved in the learning process are essential skills for our lecturers. Very quickly, given

New Undergraduate Programs: • Statistics and Data Analysis

• Cultural Resources Management – A dual faculty program between the Dept. of the Arts and the Dept. of Management • Algo-trading • Dual Computer Science and Humanities & Social Sciences • Dual Computer Science and Life Sciences • Dual Life Sciences and Geography – focusing on human interactions with the environment

New Graduate Degree Programs: • Master's degree in Health Systems Management in Eilat - for mid-career doctors and dentists • Master's degree in Environmental Physics and Solar Energy at the Albert Katz International School for Desert Studies

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President's Report 2022