Ohalo College of Katzrin brings sustainable development studies into the ivory tower.
The world of academia and environmental activism do not always go hand in hand, and academics are notorious for their detachment from the real world. But some universities and colleges are an exception to this generalization. In fact, Tel Aviv University held a conference intended to bring together academic researchers and environmental policy makers just last month. And green MBA degrees are popping up all over the place, instructing business students on how to integrate sustainable objectives in the business world.
The Ohalo College of Katzrin in Israel is rising to our global environmental challenge as well, by opening an entire department devoted to sustainable development and renewable energy.
The focus of the department will be regional and study “the unique interrelationships of different renewable energy sources and their impact on the sustainability of development in the Golan and Galilee regions.”
Since Ohalo College predicts that renewable energy will become one of the key scientific fields of the upcoming century, the primary focus of the new department will be “to educate future technicians and engineers in a broad based, holistic and interdisciplinary renewable energy and sustainable development fields. Faculty will focus on educating renewable energy technicians and engineers while conducting innovative research from nanomaterials for improving efficiencies of renewable energy systems.”
Ohalo College also considers itself highly suited to developing this new department, since it is located near several sources of geothermal energy, water power, wind power, biofuel sources and solar energy.
Image via: Emmanuel Dyan
Read more about the intersection of higher education and environmental activism::
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Author: Karen Chernick
Much to the disappointment of her Moroccan grandmother, Karen became a vegetarian at the age of seven because of a heartfelt respect for other forms of life. She also began her journey to understand her surroundings and her impact on the environment. She even starting an elementary school Ecology Club and an environmental newsletter in the 3rd grade. (The proceeds of the newsletter went to non-profit environmental organizations, of course.) She now studies in New York. Karen can be reached at karen (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
