An unprecedented academic development is underway at HIT: the Institute has established the Faculty of Medical Technologies the first of its kind in Israel, and innovative on an international scale as well. The faculty will unite the worlds of biomedicine, engineering, technology, and design within a single framework, offering a multidisciplinary approach that bridges STEM disciplines including design with real-world challenges facing the healthcare system.
The faculty is expected to enroll approximately 1,000 undergraduate and graduate students in the coming years and will consolidate all of HIT’s academic programs and research initiatives that integrate engineering, technology, and design with the life sciences and medicine.
Forward-Looking Academic Programs
The faculty will include the Department of Digital Medical Technologies, which has been active since 2020, alongside new programs in various stages of development in fields such as medical imaging (with an emphasis on AI), bio convergence, clinical medical technologies, and an existing M.Sc. track in Health Information Management and Technology. Additional programs at the intersection of engineering, technology, design, and medicine have been submitted for approval to the Council for Higher Education (CHE) as part of the multi-year academic development plan.
HIT President Prof. Eduard Yakubov views the faculty’s establishment as a milestone in the Institute’s growth: “The founding of the Faculty of Medical Technologies reflects our vision for a deep connection between advanced engineering and technological knowledge and the medical challenges of the 21st century. This is a faculty that looks ahead to the place where technology, medicine, and society converge.”
Bridging Academia and Clinical Environments
Dr. Refael Baran, Vice President for Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Internationalization, and founder of the Digital Medical Technologies program, underscores the applied potential: “The faculty will allow us to deepen applied research in clinical settings, in collaboration with medical centers and health organizations in Israel and worldwide. The integration of applied academia, innovation, and clinical environments in hospitals, in the community, and in the patient’s home is a significant growth engine, both for the healthcare system and for industry.”
It is worth noting that the faculty’s establishment did not happen overnight: as early as 2022, it was defined as a central objective in the academic development plan submitted to the CHE, as part of the multi-year program for 2023 and beyond.
