50,000 students Of Education Institution can’t be wrong: meet The Open University’s new curriculum

Computer science for outstanding students, cognition science, data science and online economics, digital humanities, and a special philosophy, economics and political science program; The Open University combines innovation in instruction with curricula specially adapted for the future employment and research world.

Published in Ynet Yedioth Ahronot, Sponsored by The Open University

“The Open University provides its students with a winning combination of innovative and enriching curricula and the option of working and earning a living throughout their studies,” says Prof. Ophir Münz-Manor, Dean of Academic Studies at the top institution.

He says, “The unique flexibility of The Open University is expressed, among other things, by a broad spread of hours, online instruction, and an ability to combine different curricula. More-over, the university provides students, who are not studying for degrees that are clearly job oriented, the option of finding work more easily when they complete their studies. The best example is the BA in the digital humanities program, which is considered a new field in Israel and the world. The Open University’s connection of the humanities with computer science is unique, enabling students to join teams with computer people. During the degree, students obtain training in the principles of programming and statistics, so that beyond the intellectual gain, a window to diverse job opportunities in the new world is opened to them.”

Prof. Münz-Manor adds, “The university offers its students courses that integrate practice, where they intern at a company, organization, or NPO. This integration with the job world is present in communications, arts, and economics. These courses are another horizon at the Open University, which improves the students’ ability to find a good job after their studies.”

In reality, there are many students who struggle to pick the right curriculum, because the offerings are limited as far as they are concerned, and they prefer to enrich their knowledge in fields that are as diverse as possible. As an academic institution that strives to provide everyone – young and old – an equal opportunity, the Open University enables everyone to find an academic field that interests them the most. Every year, new programs dictated by the reality in the field are opened.

BELOW ARE SOME OF THE IMPRESSIVE NEW AND FASCINATING CURRICULA THAT THE OPEN UNIVERSITY IS OFFERING THIS YEAR

BA in Computer Science and Software Engineering for outstanding students

A program designed for outstanding students to expand their horizons in computer science, devote most of their time to their studies and earn a degree quickly. The program is suited for new candidates with extraordinary achievements before their academic studies and for students who will complete the first undergraduate semester cum laude.

The program has two curricula:

• A computer science program for outstanding students, who can complete a B.Sc. in Computer Science in three years
• A software engineering program for outstanding students, who can complete a B.Sc. in Software Engineering in four years

The program’s students will benefit from professional support of senior faculty, participate in special and inspiring courses available exclusively to students in the program, which makes it possible to build an accelerated curriculum, tuition and expenses scholarships to enable them to concentrate on their studies, and attend scientific conferences overseas accompanied by faculty.

B.A. in Cognition

Cognition studies integrates psychology, philosophy, computer science, and other fields to build the processes that a person undergoes in absorbing, processing, and executing information to create a full picture in understanding the factors involved in human behavior. The human soul, human consciousness, the acquisition of language, the reciprocal relationship between a person and the information channels that stimulate the senses, and other subjects are at the center of the program. This program is offered to outstanding students who will choose one of three cross-departmental programs in cognition science: psychology and cognition science, philosophy and cognition science, and computer science and cognition science.

B.Sc. in Data Science and the Online Economy

The contemporary era integrates an online global economy and immense quantities of data. Organizations and corporations therefore need to use complex algorithms to analyze a huge amount of data and parameters related to their business or public activity. This analysis enables them to understand the business environment in which they operate (consumers, competitors, partners, etc.) and what motivates them.

Students in the undergraduate program learn how to use the power of advanced data processing to take important financial decisions. Upon completion of the studies, it is possible to combine forecast analytics and business intelligence at businesses and public organizations, as well as at high-tech companies that develop algorithms in the subject. Interdisciplinary knowledge in this field is relevant in a range of industries, from finance and insurance through e-commerce to higher education – basically for any organization that seeks a sophisticated planning of its activities on the basis of thorough understanding of how its target clients operate in the arena.

Major in Digital Humanities

Digital humanities has been flourishing in academe in the past 20 years. Texts, images, and music clips have increasingly become digitalized, resulting in the understanding that it is now possible to undertake quantitative-computational research in the humanities, its activity, and its challenges. The unique program provides students a mathematical, computational, and technological orientation that enables them to understand how digital systems operate and how to converse with colleagues in the computer sciences in order to initiate the development of research-supporting tools.

B.A. in Philosophy, Economics, and Political Science

The B.A. in Philosophy, Economics, and Political Science is a multidisciplinary degree that opens a window to the public-political world and provides tools for an in-depth understanding of political mechanisms and phenomena from the perspective of the three disciplines and of the reciprocal relations between their political, economic, and ethical elements. The degree integrates philosophy, from both its contribution toward understanding the moral dimension of political structures and its contribution to training students in analytical, logical, and critical thinking; political science, which is important for understanding governmental systems as authoritative structures, how they operate, and the relations between them and between them and different social systems; and economics, which plays a key function in deciding public life in the modern world, because of the importance of the economic model of the rational actor for understanding social phenomena.

This prestigious program was established back in 1920 at Oxford University (where it is known by the acronym PPE) and its graduates include former UK Prime Minister David Cameron, former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, the philosopher Isaiah Berlin, and many others. Many other universities have similar programs, including Ivy League institutions Yale University and the University of Pennsylvania.

The Open University is one of Israel’s nine universities and is accredited by the Council of Higher Education. It offers higher education with no acceptance criteria or psychometric exams for undergraduate degrees in a range of fields, and graduate degrees and certifications, subject to the acceptance conditions set separately for each program.

That is not all: university students can decide whether to study one course or several courses in a semester (registration at the Open University is on a semester basis), and whether to focus their studies in particular fields or study for a multidisciplinary degree. They can also choose an appropriate study group for their study style and personal circumstances, use printed and online material to learn from any place and at any time, and obtain help at instruction meetings at various days and times at one of the 60 study centers nationwide, or online.

Relevant studies for the contemporary era

The Open University’s President Prof. Mimi Ajzenstadt says, “The technology world is changing rapidly, and we are all witnesses the shortage of skilled workers in the Israeli high-tech industry, which is a strategic threat to the Israeli economy, which is starved for outstanding university graduates in computer science, software engineering, data science, and other disciplines. Ahead of the coming academic year, we have expanded and updated our programs to be relevant for the contemporary reality, enabling the students who choose to study them to combine work and an academic education and between personal and professional development. Many of our graduates obtain key positions in the Israeli and foreign high-tech industry.”

Prof. Ajzenstadt adds, “During the COVD crisis and Operation Guardian of the Walls, the Open University demonstrated that it is the best platform for the State of Israel in dealing with national challenges. That is how it was in the past and how it is today, the study routine of our students was not affected, thanks to our online classes, textbooks, and excellent course sites, which are continuously upgraded.”

Almost 50,000 students have chosen The Open University to date. You too can enroll!

As a dynamic university at the forefront of research and curricula, the Open University is revitalized every year, and the students not only benefit from a top advanced academic degree, but, most of all, they can expand their knowledge and enrich their spirit in a range of fascinating fields.