Afeka College of Engineering

Afeka is formally registered as Afeka Tel-Aviv Academic College of Engineering.[4] The Hakirya Building is located at 218 Bnei Ephraim Street in northern Tel Aviv, while the Ficus Building stands at 38 Mivtza Kadesh Street.[5][6] The National Library of Israel assigns the institution the library code AFK and identifies its library service as AFEKA WeSearch.[4]

The college is publicly funded through the Planning and Budgeting Committee of the Council for Higher Education.[1] Ben-Gurion University of the Negev's research-information system lists Afeka as an external academic organization among its network organizations.[7] Prof. Yossi Rosenwaks serves as college president.[8] Isaac Ben-Israel, a security scholar and former senior defense official, has been a member of Afeka's academic council since 2003.[9]

Afeka was established in 1996 and accredited by Israel's Council for Higher Education.[1] By 2021 it had approximately 3,000 students across its main campus and two nearby branches.[10] Plans for expansion had been discussed by 2013, when the Israel Land Authority and the Tel Aviv-Jaffa Municipality agreed to allocate a southeastern Tel Aviv site for a technology and engineering campus capable of serving about 5,000 students.[6]

During Ami Moyal's presidency, Afeka pursued a mission to align its graduate profile with modern industry needs.[11] In a 2019 interview, Moyal described a shift away from traditional frontal lectures toward project-based learning, student clubs, hackathons, and an innovation center, arguing that genuine curiosity was central to learning.[12] By 2020, after a year of planning and reorganization, the revised program was associated with a 50% increase in applications, and the college reported around 350 faculty members.[11] A 2022 profile reported 450 faculty members across five engineering schools.[13]

The October 7, 2023, terrorist attacks and the ensuing war profoundly affected Afeka's operations. Before the 2023–2024 academic year, the college had 3,400 students; more than 1,400—over 40% of the student body—were called into IDF service, and the academic year did not begin until December 31, 2023, almost three months late.[14] The college responded with hybrid live classes, recorded lectures, repeated and shortened courses for reservists returning during a semester, and financial and mental-health support.[15][14] Its later support initiatives included Ohel Rei, or The Quiet Tent, built around listening, collaboration, and student wellbeing.[8] At a commencement ceremony held on February 10, 2025, 720 engineering and science graduates received degrees before an audience of 3,000; the college also honored 1,700 students who had served during the war.[16]

Available demographic reporting is dated and partial. A 2020 profile said women comprised roughly one quarter of Afeka's students; it reported that women made up about 10% of the electronic and mechanical engineering departments and more than half of medical engineering.[11] A 2022 profile put the overall proportion of women at approximately 30%, said the Arab student population had tripled in recent years, and noted continued difficulty integrating the Haredi community.[13] The sources do not provide a complete current demographic breakdown.

Afeka offers undergraduate engineering and science degrees in electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, medical engineering, industrial engineering and management, information systems engineering, software engineering, computer science, data science, and combined engineering-and-computer-science programs.[17] Its listed master's programs include Systems Engineering, Engineering and Management, Energy and Power Systems Engineering, Medical Engineering, and Intelligent Systems.[1]

The college's competency-based educational model embeds skill development in formal learning outcomes inside and outside the classroom. It combines foundations in mathematics and physics with engineering knowledge, critical thinking, multidisciplinary teamwork, communication in Hebrew, English, and programming, and broader social and ethical values.[1][13] Documented teaching methods include flipped classrooms, games, debates, and mathematical problem-solving in escape rooms. Mechanical engineering students have attended renewable-energy field seminars at the Eilat-Eilot Renewable Energy and Technology Innovation Center, while automotive engineering students have studied truck chassis design and assembly inside a truck.[18]

A study involving 103 high-tech companies found that 68% ranked multidisciplinary teamwork as the most important skill for a new engineer, followed by problem-solving, creativity, and interpersonal communication; mathematical skills ranked last among those identified as most important.[13] The college also sponsors Engineers Without Borders, through which students design and deliver projects addressing problems faced by disadvantaged populations in Israel and abroad. Afeka students also designed a compact vehicle called Hagar that won first prize in a competition hosted by the Institute for Transport Innovation.[19]

A 2025 report said annual enrollment had risen from around 500 students to 1,000, with more than 700 graduates entering the workforce each year. It estimated that Afeka supplied approximately 10% of the new engineers joining Israel's high-tech industry.[20]

Afeka's Research Authority promotes engagement with leading-edge science and technology, supports staff research, expands activity through dedicated research centers, and encourages cooperation with researchers at other academic institutions and in industry.[21]

The college's Center for Language Processing is a research, development, and instructional laboratory for speech and language technology. It participated in a project led by Israel's Ministry of Defense—alongside medical and technology partners in Israel and Rome—investigating whether AI-based voice analysis could help identify potential COVID-19 carriers before diagnosis.[11]

Afeka faculty have also contributed to energy and sustainability research. Dr. Moshe Tshuva of the School of Mechanical Engineering presented at the IIASA-Israel Research Symposium on Sustainability Pathways in November 2022. His presentation asked whether Israel could achieve 100% renewable energy by 2050.[22]

In defense-related research, an IDF lieutenant colonel completed a master's project in Afeka's Intelligent Systems program developing a noninvasive brain-computer interface for drone control. The prototype used an EEG headset with 14 sensors and a hybrid deep-learning architecture to recognize seven movement-related command patterns, with Afeka reporting approximately 89% accuracy. The system was described as hands-free, although scalp-based EEG signals can be affected by eye and muscle movements, environmental conditions, the user's physical state, and hardware sensitivity.[23]

Afeka is constructing a new campus in the developing Yad Eliyahu neighborhood in southeastern Tel Aviv. The project is being undertaken with the Tel Aviv-Yafo municipality and the Council for Higher Education's Planning and Budgeting Committee, with the stated goal of enabling a 50% increase in enrollment and producing 1,000 additional engineers annually.[24]

A 2021 agreement described a 15-dunam lot near La Guardia and Moshe Dayan streets, with an initial 10,000-square-meter building budgeted at NIS 100 million—funded by the municipality with NIS 60 million, the college with NIS 30 million, and the Planning and Budgeting Committee with NIS 10 million. A further 5,000-square-meter wing was conditional on additional funding.[10] A 2023 JNS report placed the project's planned cost at approximately $100 million and described academic buildings, advanced laboratories, and student dormitories on a 42,000-square-meter lot near the Yad Eliyahu–Kfar Shalem boundary.[25]

Afeka's campus page states that Phase One construction has commenced, with four academic buildings planned around shared spaces, alongside student housing and commercial areas.[24] College leadership has described the new campus as a means of encouraging local youth in Yad Eliyahu and surrounding areas to pursue higher education.[26] Published projections have ranged from a move in 2026 to completion by the opening of the 2027 academic year; these are dated forecasts rather than confirmation of final completion.[26][27]

In September 2026, the student team AFEKA Racing became the first Israeli team to enter the iLumen European Solar Challenge, a 24-hour solar-powered race held in Belgium. The students designed and built their vehicle, completed 197 laps—nearly 800 kilometers—and finished 14th overall, placing first among the six teams making their debut in the competition.[3] The multidisciplinary team included students from mechanical, electrical, software, and industrial engineering. Afeka was described as the only academic institution in Israel offering an automotive specialization within an undergraduate mechanical engineering program.[3]

Alumni have taken roles across high technology, research and development, defense, electronics, software, medicine, machinery, and management, and have pursued master's and doctoral studies at institutions in Israel and abroad.[25] The college reports that its graduates contribute an estimated US$2 billion annually to Israeli GDP.[1]

Published figures for Afeka's student body, alumni, faculty, and campus plans vary by source and reporting date. Afeka's overview reports 10,000 alumni, while its Engineering Career Center says close to 7,500.[1][28] A JNS profile reports more than 8,000 alumni, while a June 2026 Jerusalem Post profile says the college had graduated more than 10,000.[29][2]

Faculty figures were reported as 350 in 2020 and 450 in 2022; the sources do not reconcile whether the difference reflects growth or different counting methods.[11][13] Student enrollment was reported as 3,000 in 2021 and 3,400 before the 2023–2024 academic year.[10][14] Afeka's overview now lists 3,500 students.[1]

Campus descriptions have also changed. A 2013 report described a 27-dunam site and up to 58,000 square meters of buildings, while a 2021 report described a 15-dunam lot with an initial 10,000-square-meter building and a possible 5,000-square-meter wing.[6][10] A 2023 report referred to a 42,000-square-meter lot.[25] These differences may reflect successive planning stages, but the sources do not fully reconcile them.