Haifa may have ancient roots, but it is also rapidly positioning itself as a city of the future. And while growth-oriented journeys are typically characterized by the metaphor of "climbing up a mountain," Haifa is actually growing by climbing down.
As Israeli society progresses deeper into the 21st century, it cannot simply rely on thriving commerce and populations in the central cities of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Abundant – yet largely untapped – talent, ingenuity, inspiration, and vibrancy can be found in Israel's periphery. And Haifa, Israel's third-largest city, serves as the country's nexus of ethnic and religious diversity, enables residents as well as visitors from around the world, to experience a harmonious picture of the Jewish state.
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On a parallel track, the University of Haifa's expansion and unique multiversity model mirrors and amplifies the continual development of its city's character. By building a multi-campus institution with locations around Haifa and throughout northern Israel, easing access for students, and adding vitality to the city and region, the university is serving as a catalyst and engine of change. The result for Israel's north will be more jobs, stability, and security, as well as increased local and regional pride.
The cornerstone of this work is the university's Lorry I. Lokey City Campus, which we unveiled just over a year ago. Figuratively but also quite literally, this new downtown campus is bringing the University of Haifa down from the mountain top of Mount Carmel, making it a more integral part of the city and a catalyst for regional development.
Even before the completion of the campus, we have already witnessed our institution's power to contribute to the broader revival of downtown Haifa. Now, American philanthropist and Business Wire founder Lorry I. Lokey's $10 million gift for the downtown campus will enable us to continue to spearhead the crucial developments and improvements for our city and region during the next several decades and beyond.
Israel as a whole also stands to benefit from the multiversity model. Israel is currently ranked fifth among the countries listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange. Running from Tel Aviv through Herzliya to Haifa, the area known as "Silicon Wadi" is essential to the future productivity of the startup nation, especially in the high-tech field. In the same way that Caltech and other colleges throughout the state of California feed talent to America's Silicon Valley, the development of our downtown campus, as well as the continued expansion of our student base and faculty, will provide much needed injections of both intellectual and economic capital into the entire country.
In particular, University of Haifa's immense potential to strengthen the Israeli economy is seen in our BSc program in Data Science. Launched this year, the program represents the genesis of a collaboration between three departments (Computer Science, Statistics, and Information Systems). High performing students – those with a psychometric score of over 680 – have already begun their studies in this new program. At the opening of our Data Science campus – Israel's first of its kind – then-Education Minister Naftali Bennett remarked, "I applaud the tremendous resources and efforts invested by the University of Haifa to combine the right formula of quality academia, social integration, and contribution to the regional development and the State of Israel."
Also opened in 2019, our Data Science Research Center received a 8 million shekel ($2.3 million) budget from the Council for Higher Education with a matching component of 2.5 million shekel ($720,000) from the university itself. Headed by Dr. Mor Peleg, the center is also served by a data engineer who will provide services to the faculty members and students who wish to receive assistance with using engineering tools. We expect that the construction of the center's building will take approximately a year and a half to two years, and that the center will ultimately draw the university's Computer Science, Statistics, and Information Systems departments from our Mount Carmel campus down to the town center.
The expansion of our campus, faculty and student body – as well as the migration of those resources down from the mountaintop and into Haifa's burgeoning downtown area – comes at a critical juncture for the university. In addition to the downtown campus, we have launched the construction of the Helmsley Health Discovery Tower in partnership with Rambam Health Care Campus, and the laboratories of the university's School of Marine Sciences are already operating from the Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research building.
The more we develop the university's infrastructure, the more we will attract ambitious students both from Israel and around the world, enhancing the diversity and impact of our community. In turn, our climb down the mountain will strengthen the connections among the university and its city, region and country, as well as Israel's standing in the world.
