Research

עמוד:14

Serving the community Universities must be more than centres of learning and research . They ought to turn their resources also to the basic problems of the community to a greater extent than they are doing now . I have tried to summarize some of the indicators of impending change . More and more young people , in Israel and the rest of the Western world , leave school without being adequately equipped to enter university or work in jobs that demand some degree of sophistication . The issue of standards and achievements has become a matter of national concern . It is compounded by some Western notions that learning should be made pleasant and enjoyable . Such notions are counter-productive . The human brain is perhaps the least cooperative part of our make-up . It does not respond to pleasant goading but demands hard and continuous exercise and exertIOn . First university degree Six of the conventional universities in Israel provide more or less identical offerings to their undergraduate students . ( The Weizman Institute , with no undergraduates , is not included here . ) At first sight , there appears to be here a great deal of duplication in the studies towards the first degree . One is tempted to ask whether , in this age of technology and communication , better ways could not be found to lead students to their first degrees . advances . "It may be a kind of treason to say it , but not all research is all that important , " Prof . E . Levi , formerly president of the University of Chicago , once said . The universities may consider setting up their own research commissions to oversee and evaluate the research . It remains to be seen how effective such commissions will prove to be , if indeed they be established .

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