At a Channel 7 interview during the Lev Conference on Science, Technology and Security, Prof. Dan Buchnik, rector of the Lev Academic Center, described how the institution is helping train engineers for Israel’s defense establishment. He said graduates have been behind developments that received honors, and that the college’s role is reflected in the large number of alumni now working in advanced security systems.
Buchnik said the conference would award the “Lev of Security” prize to Brig. Gen. Shay Amiel, a graduate of the center who serves as the IDF chief engineer. Amiel also won the Israel Defense Prize for a system that Buchnik could not detail, but said it both improves the IDF’s offensive capability and helps protect soldiers on the battlefield. He added that the award is meant as recognition and respect for Amiel’s work.
According to Buchnik, 13 alumni of the center have won the Israel Defense Prize over the years. One of them developed a target-bank system using artificial intelligence. He said these systems, created by graduates, strengthen the IDF and the state as a whole, and show the institution’s high academic level.
Buchnik also said thousands of graduates are integrated into the most advanced security organizations. He said the center decided to ensure that future Israel Defense Prize winners will also include women, which led to the opening of an engineering faculty for women. He noted that the electro-optics faculty now has an equal number of women and men, and that a new campus with advanced laboratories for women is being developed.
On artificial intelligence, Buchnik said the center has made it a priority for the past three years to place AI at the forefront of training. He said the curriculum is being designed for graduates who will enter industry and develop systems centered on AI, and that the effort extends beyond engineering to management and health and life sciences.
