Architects - Not only Engineers
The Council for Higher Education (CHE) last week approved the opening of a new B.A. program in Architecture (B.Arch) at the SCE. The program is planned to open in the 2021-2022 academic year. The Architecture Department, an additional component in the continued establishment of the SCE School of Design, will meet the need for the accelerated development of southern Israel as a region rich in advanced industries and research centers and will provide a breakthrough for the entire Negev region. This is also wonderful news for young people residing in southern Israel who, up to now, could only acquire education in this field in central and northern Israel.
The aim of the B.Arch study program is to train the next generation of architects and urban planners in Israel, and to equip them with a “toolkit” for suitable planning, building preservation, using technological tools, sustainability and innovation. Program graduates will have the ability to plan buildings as well as urban and regional complexes, while taking into consideration global-environmental and local aspects and employing advanced and innovative technologies, and all while developing social-critical responsibility.
Planning and designing a space requires extensive knowledge, including in-depth study of core courses that balance architectural, urban and environmental literacy, underscoring courses in the following fields: urban building architecture, environment, technology and society. As part of their studies students will be trained to address the interdisciplinary nature of the architecture profession and will receive the full range of knowledge for planning and designing buildings, from their foundations. Studies will be both individual and in work groups. Learning processes will take place in planning studios, designated classrooms, laboratories, workshops, seminars and tours, as well as through numerous lecture series delivered by faculty members and guest lecturers.
The B.A. in Architecture is a five-year program. Tuition will be university-level and award of a degree is subject to approval of the Council for Higher Education (CHE).
Prof. Jehuda Haddad, President of SCE - Sami Shamoon College of Engineering: “I am proud that the SCE – which over the years has produced the best engineers, will be training the next generation of architects in Israel. I thank the Council for Higher Education for its approval of the new B.A. degree program in Architecture (B.Arch). This approval is in addition to another recent approval of a B.A. program in Visual Communication (B.Des). These are only part of a comprehensive undertaking to offer design and architecture studies at the SCE under the Faculty of Design and Architecture. The Architecture Department and the proposed study program provide a response to the accelerated development of southern Israel as a region rich in advanced industries and research centers, so that thousands of young people can specialize in these fields. The School of Design, which includes architecture, visual communication and additional fields, will also meet the needs of the Negev, the developing high-tech park in Be’er Sheva, the plan for the transition of the IDF to the south of Israel and to making Be’er Sheva Israel’s cyber capital. As we see it, higher education is the starting point of a career path and opens the door to the employment world. Increasingly more young people understand the vital importance of higher education and of choosing the best-suited field for themselves. It is our duty to offer them the opportunity and the access to quality higher education that will pave their way to a successful and satisfying career.”
