Afeka College has been selected by Israel’s Ministry of Education to deliver two credit-bearing courses in the national First Semester During High School program

Afeka College is among the few academic institutions chosen to take part in the Ministry of Education’s First Semester During High School program – an innovative program  that embeds university coursework directly into high-school classrooms. Launched in the 2024-25 academic year and now running nationwide, the program lets every student preparing for the Israeli matriculation exams (Bagrut) earn academic credits – at no cost.

As part of First Semester During High School, any high school student can to take a digitally integrated academic course, as part of the curriculum for their matriculation topic of choice.

The classes will be taught by leading lecturers from the participating institutions, and accompanied by teaching staff – and all this at no cost.

The program is expected to greatly contribute to Ministry of Education schools and the teachers, but most of all to the participating students.

Some of the key benefits to the participating teenagers will include:

  • Early exposure to engineering and science disciplines
  • University credits and a smoother transition to higher education
  • Strengthened self-learning, critical-thinking and digital-literacy skills
  • Equal access to advanced studies, regardless of geography or background
  • Ongoing mentoring by both Afeka lecturers and schoolteachers

Afeka has the honor of being the only institution in Israel to teach the “Calculus A” course, and students in the program will also be able to take an Afeka computer science course.

 By opening university-level STEM to every high-school classroom, Afeka advances its vision of Promoting a Holistic View of the National STEM Educational Continuum. Noga Petel Efraim, head of Industry Relations: “The program exposes high school students to engineering and science disciplines, paving their way to academic studies and an industry career. Academia provides technologies, labs, and platforms for improving the teaching and learning process and opening access to academic-level subject matter. As part of the Industry Relations department’s work for building a lifelong studies unit, we’ve created a division for high school studies in academia.”

President of Afeka, Prof. Ami Moyal: “I see great importance in ongoing, effective collaboration between academia and the education system as a basis for creating a coordinated national educational continuum – which will provide Israeli youth with the skills they need to flourish in a modern society and job market.”

For more information on the program on the MOE website