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Students apply to MSc programs in both thesis
and non-thesis tracks. Those in the non-thesis track
generally complete their degree while working or pur-
suing other occupations; those writing a thesis com-
bine it with research at one of the faculty’s labs.
Like Elgarisi, Hadar Shaulian completed her BSc
(magna cum laude) at a different academic institu-
tion, where she performed well academically, and
she also entered the direct PhD track. She is currently
in the final stages of her degree. She is also married
and has four children – and all this at age 31. In recent
months, Shaulian started working as an engineer in
a tech company in Migdal HaEmek, where she works
in the semiconductor industry. During her time in the
faculty, her family lived in the “Graduate Student Vil-
lage” – dorms for graduate students at the Technion.
“My years of advanced research in the faculty gave
me tons of tools,” she says enthusiastically. “I devel-
oped my independent thinking abilities and gained
an understanding of problem-solving. Of course,
there is an advisor who leads the lab – but at the end
of the day, the research is mine, and I have to pull the
right strings to make things happen. I learned to draw
meaningful conclusions from the findings. The whole
process really helped me mature from a professional
standpoint. I started my current job with completely
different capabilities in terms of knowledge, confi-
dence and independence. In general, the faculty in-
vests in its graduate students – budgets, attention,
the whole package. It makes you feel good.”
Emil Bronstein is a PhD student in his third year
and the father of a baby girl. He completed both of
his previous degrees in the faculty. His wife also
studied at the Technion, in the Wolfson Department
of Chemical Engineering. “I always say that mechan-
ical engineering degrees provide a very broad out-
look about projects,” he declares. “A mechanical
engineer is someone who, in addition to having deep
knowledge in mechanical engineering, was trained
to understand a variety of other fields that touch on
additional worlds of content, such as electrical engi-
neering, programming, data science, materials engi-
neering and more.
“Graduate degrees teach several important capa-
bilities, the first of which is independence. In order to
lead research, one must to be able to work and think
independently on the way to achieving the goals of
the research – from using existing methods and solv-
ing problems by borrowing tools from other fields, to
developing completely new methods.
“The second is self-critique. The nature of research
is that it involves a great deal of uncertainty. Students
who perform research encounter many obstacles and
misgivings along the way. During their studies, and
with the help of their advisors, students learn to
evaluate their work objectively. This is an essential
quality for any position in an
innovative field. Photography: Rami Chelouche, Technion spokespeople
“The third capability that
a graduate degree from the
faculty provides is a broad
perspective on projects at all
stages, from the idea stage
to the finished product: You
understand the goals, work
methods and methodology
on a deep level. As part of
this, many skills and qualifi- Mor Elgarisi: “I’m in the coolest
cations are gained ‘from top lab there is. The lab has around
to bottom’ – from planning to
execution. ten people and we all work
together. We all push each
“The tools and experience other, and that’s very important
that the faculty’s graduate in a research environment.
students acquire, with an em-
phasis on these capabilities,
lead them to later assume key positions and enter
some of the most desirable and fulfilling R&D jobs
on the market.”
Finding the Right Advisor
“There are excellent people here. You just have to
talk to them”
One of the issues that trouble many graduate stu-
dents, especially those in thesis tracks, is finding
an advisor. Non-research track students are also as-
signed an advisor, but more as a faculty contact, a
sort of “parent” for the student.
“I completed my BSc outside the faculty, so I didn’t
really know the professors,” says Shaulian. “This the-
oretically should have increased the uncertainty, but
luckily the faculty has good people who helped and
guided me. I talked to one advisor, and we mutually
decided it wouldn’t work out; then I scheduled a con-
versation with Prof. Alon Wolf, who heads the Bioro-
botics and Biomechanics Lab at the Technion, and it
was quickly settled.
“If a student came to me toward the end of their
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering | MEgazine | 19