Wanted: Arts majors for high-techFrom GlobsTechnology companies are looking for creativity, flexibility, and the ability to think outside the box.The average profile for a high-tech worker generally includes an education in systems engineering, computer engineering, or programming. However, in recent years, along with the blossoming of start-ups, many companies are turning to completely different fields to recruit workers. They are looking for creativity, flexibility, and the ability to think outside the box - attributes that are not necessarily typical of math and engineering graduates.This trend, which characterizes high-tech and start-up companies, reflects a broader trend: companies are increasingly seeking to hire workers who are not conventional fits for the traditional requirements, so they can contribute to intellectual diversity, and help them to see things a little differently.Shai Ozon, CEO of One1 Group, which employs 3,000 workers in IT, is a strong advocate of hiring management talents from different fields. “The idea is to bolster the management layer with people who come from different disciplines, and to diversify the style of management,” he says. “The reason is that we are in an industry that is constantly changing: the technology changes, the customers come from a wide variety for fields, and we are looking for people who will be able to speak in diverse languages, and not necessarily understand the intricate details of the product we are selling, but more relationship management and sales processes. We can teach them about the product.”Are there problems with today’s training?“Apple’s success did not stem from the fact that their computers were better than IBMs, rather from the synthesis of disciplines. For example, once, the role of information systems was to make sure the computer would work. Today, it is to give the business a competitive edge. It is not enough to speak the old language of technology; you need a broader business vision.”What characteristics are you looking for in employees?The people I am looking for may have backgrounds in law, industry and management, and as far as I'm concerned even art. The important thing is that they have some life experience. They first undergo an internship, for about a year and a half, in three levels of specialization: professional training in IT, management coaching, and in organizational culture the company’s business language. Each one of them will hold a variety of positions within the company along the way: projects, sales, etc., and they will see the big picture.“I am looking for assertive, creative people, who understand business, and from that, also sales processes. Personality and ability to communicate are extremely valuable. It is hard to find managers, and, generally, people look in the wrong place. The match has to be as close as possible. We have built a rigorous program, and I want to have 10 employees enter the first round. If I end up with a few good managers, I will be happy. Good managers are worth a lot of money.”Technology with creativityRSA (EMC Information Security division) Israel Director of Research and Innovation CTO Alon Kaufman says that using information for business purposes requires multi-disciplined people, and professional teams need to include, on the one hand, technical people, with backgrounds in statistics, mathematics, or computer science, and, on the other hand, content experts, who understand the business side, and the customers.“There are very few mathematicians who have a natural business sense, therefore, people who can translate and manage all the technical sides and direct them towards something business oriented that will speak to the customers, and will translate the information in the most practical manner into a final product, are very important. But thinking about the final product has to course through the blood of every one of the workers. So that they have the drive to find the simplest algorithm, and the most practical graphics. When we analyze the data, we need people who know how to ask questions, and know how to present the final product, visually speaking. Such a team could include an architect, a statistician, someone with a degree in computer science, and a physicist. The manager of such a team does not need to be an expert in one of the fields; the manager needs to have the personality traits to allow him to connect everyone, to communicate with the team, and to lead.”Is it possible to find such people?“It makes hiring very complicated. Depending on the candidate, you sometimes change the job description, because obviously you will never find yourself exactly. Typically, managers look for people who resemble themselves, but I think this is the biggest mistake - you should search for people who are different.”At the start-up company Innovid, the employee profile is also atypical for high-tech. “The company’s first employee was a Creative Director, which is a position that does not exist at high-tech companies,” says co-founder and global operations manager Zack Zigdon. “What we are creating is something new, and when you approach a client, you have to show him something to convince him. We need creative people to convince the advertisers.”Innovid offers advertisers a new way to present their products using videos that present viewers with options to be exposed to more and more information about the product. For instance, a viewer watching a car commercial may be able to book a test drive, view the car’s interior, or receive price quotes, while watching the commercial. The company has a full team of art and design school graduates working on the video advertising experience.Playtika Israel, which operates in the field of gaming on social networks, and whose primary platform is Facebook, has a hard time finding workers because the company is so specialized. According to head of HR Gabi Karni, she turns to candidates whom, in a typical recruit, she would not be interested in. The company’s content manager is a script writer, and working directly under him is a toy designer. The studio manager previously worked at an ad agency. The marketing manager is an entrepreneur, who previously founded a start-up. One worker was an IDF intelligence officer; his job is to research the competition. “Initially, it was because we had no choice,” says Karni, “But, later, I understood that, surprisingly, the variety and the heterogeneousness bring about our success as an innovative organization that creates products outside of the box. These workers come from a crossroads, seeking a new and challenging path. They come with motivation, hunger, and desire - this is what creates the synergy with the organizations culture and pace. Their learning curve is very steep, and they succeed exceptionally.”“Also seeking literature majors”As mentioned, seeking employees who do not fit the classic profile is not only typical in high-tech. McCann Valley (McXann Erickson ad agency Mitzpe Ramon extension) chairwoman Hana Rado, had a hard time finding young workers in the area. Hence, some of the senior staff relocated to the area from Tel Aviv, but there is a clear preference for Negev residents. “We take people with undergraduate degrees, who have no experience, and they undergo 3 months of training. For the time being, the training is in Tel Aviv, but soon it will be in Mitzpe Ramon. We have psychologists, economists, lawyers, communications majors, literature majors, people who understand language. People who like to write like journalists, economists, biologists. People who are interested in the Internet world. Wonderful people with values. It’s like a start-up in the desert."Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 30, 2013© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2013 Globes - Wanted: Arts majors for high-tech      

Technology and Innovation Making a Better Tomorrow at Research@Intel EventNEWS HIGHLIGHTSToday marks the 11th annual Research@Intel event, showcasing 20 research projects from around the world, each exploring technologies to enrich lives with smarter cities, homes and offices, and with smarter ways to shop, communicate and drive.Intel Labs is developing some of the world's most promising technological advancements, both on its own and in conjunction with leading academic institutions worldwide.Intel Labs helps pave the way for future innovations through technologies that support life enrichment, easier access to big data, and a more connected computing experience.SAN FRANCISCO, June 25, 2013 – Car tail lights saving lives, immersive displays allowing photos to tell their own story, personalized shopping experiences. These are just a few of the innovations presented by Intel Corporation today at its 11th annual Research@Intel event, a showcase of the most innovative new research spawned from Intel's internal efforts and external collaborations. Justin Rattner, Intel's chief technology officer, kicked off today's event by highlighting some of the 20 groundbreaking research projects on exhibition today.Supplementing its own robust and diverse research efforts, Intel Labs two years ago deployed a unique model of direct collaboration with the world's leading academic researchers, creating a global network of seven Intel Science and Technology Centers (ISTCs) and six Intel Collaborative Research Institutes (ICRIs). Each center has built its own vibrant community of researchers to speed advances in embedded, cloud, social and secure computing, among other fields. Today's event showcases a sample of these research advances – and many from Intel's own labs – across these and many other sectors, including visual and context-aware computing as well as significant progress in fields such as big data."The majority of our research is conducted by Intel's own researchers but we are delighted by the quality and quantity of research coming out of the ISTCs and ICRIs," said Rattner. "Importantly, the deeply collaborative structure of these engagements is based on an open IP model benefiting not just Intel and researchers, but the high technology industry and human society at large."Research@Intel Demo ShowcaseDemos at the Research@Intel event are housed in four different zones. These zones include:Enriching Lives: Developing computing experiences that simplify, enhance and enrich people's lives. This research is intended to help people be understood, expressive and free. One demonstration, titled "Be Meaningful," using "Shelf Edge Technology (SET)," can help detect a person's presence in a store and create a more meaningful, personalized shopping experience. If a car needs an air filter, for example, SET could use the vehicle's service records to alert the owner about the need for a specific filter when the owner enters an auto parts store. If a person has peanut allergies, SET could warn of potentially dangerous products. If a person plans to cook salmon for dinner, SET could recommend wines to best compliment the dish.The Data Society: Unlocking the power of data for everyone. In addition to pushing the boundaries of what institutions can do with big data, Intel Labs has put an emphasis on the exploration of meaningful data exchange among individuals. Researchers are looking at ways to adapt the digital infrastructure to allow people to better capture, move and work with digital information easily and effectively. In a demonstration titled, "Vibrant Data Communities," Intel Labs researchers combine public and personal data with context-aware algorithms to identify and present the most useful information to individuals. For example, air quality sensors in a neighborhood could help steer a person clear of pollen hotspots in during allergy season.Intelligent Everything: Innovations that transform inanimate objects by adding sensing capabilities, helping enable sustainable and smart living experiences. In one demonstration, researchers are working on easy-to-use tools to automate contextual cues with already-existing sensors so that a home behaves usefully in response to events and a family's unique needs. The demonstration shows how to easily link a Web camera and a music system to act as a home security system and to link a Web camera that receives contextual cues from a baby in a crib and an alarm by the parents' bed to act as a baby monitor.Tech Essentials: Technology building blocks – including circuits, architecture and software – that provide a foundation for all of the areas above. For example, the "Protecting Sensor Data" demonstration uses Intel hardware and software to prevent malicious parties for accessing personal information recorded by cameras, microphones and GPS locators embedded in mobile devices.To get the latest Intel Innovation news, visit www.intel.com/newsroom/research, and join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The major research activities in the division are focused on molecular design, preparation and studies of novel organic, inorganic and biological materials. The chemical, physical and biological properties of these compounds and materials are investigated comprehensively by diverse traditional and modern sophisticated techniques. Undoubtedly, the molecular engineering of the materials and processes for their synthesis and studies represent a fascinating challenge whose successful solutions require a combination of synthetic expertise, mechanistic understanding, theoretical computational insight and chemical intuition.The major core of the Division is represented by the research groups oriented around synthetic organic, organometallic and catalytic chemistry. Compared with other Israeli universities, the Technion currently accommodates the highest concentration of scientists engaged in these research fields. Overall efforts in the development of new methods and catalysts for organic synthesis are aimed at application to the smarter, more powerful and effective preparation of the materials we depend upon, and the generation of valuable new products of potential interest for chemistry, biology and materials science. At least five groups are dealing with these aspects. Prof. Marek’s group is dealing with the design and development of new and efficient stereo- and enantioselective strategies for the synthesis of important complex molecular structures, with special emphasis on the creation of multiple stereo centers in a single-pot operation. Dr. Szpilman’s group is focusing on the development of novel efficient organ catalysts for useful enantioselective transformations and on natural product synthesis. Prof. Eisen’s group is developing new actinide and group 4-containing organometallic catalysts for the efficient production of useful polymers, including the synthesis of novel membranes as trapping entities for water purification and urea trapping under human physiological conditions (organic materials-oriented projects). Prof. Gross’ group is developing corrole-based catalysts for small molecule activation, oxidation and asymmetric synthetic processes. Prof. Gandelman’s group is promoting the design and development of unique organic and metal organic-based systems, new types of paradigms, and chemical bonding as a fundamental basis for the discovery of novel efficient catalytic processes.Synthesis, characterization and studies on organosilicon compounds with fundamentally and practically unique properties are being developed in Prof. Apeloig’s group. Preparation of novel aromatic compounds and fundamental aspects of aromaticity are being studied in Prof. Stanger’s group. Both groups apply high-level computational chemistry to investigate the related problems theoretically.Supramolecular chemistry is mainly represented by two groups. Prof. Keinan’s group is designing and developing biomolecular computing devices, synthetic capsids and enzymes, molecular machines, catalytic antibodies, along with sensors for explosives. Prof. Eichen’s group is directing self-assembly processes for the fabrication of nanometer-scale electronic components. Optical and electrical properties of organic functional materials are studied intensively in his group.Biologically-related chemistry (bioorganic and bioinorganic) is represented mainly by three groups. Prof. Baasov’s group is engaging in the rational design of novel antibacterial drugs, synthesis and evaluation of catalytic oligosaccharides, and the development of new chemical and enzymatic methodologies for the assembly of oligosaccharides. Prof. Gross’ group is dealing with biomimetic investigations of metal catalyzed processes to develop new strategies for combating cancer and diseases initiated by reactive oxygen species. Dr. Maayan’s group plans to study the interactions between organic biomimetic foldamers (peptide mimics) and inorganic species, such as metal ions, metal nanoparticles and metal clusters, directing these materials towards applications in catalysis and materials science.A more detailed description of the research areas of each group can be found by following the links below:The research areas of each group are described below:1. Apeloig Yitzhak2. Baasov Timor3. Eichen Yoav4. Eisen Moris S.5. Gandelman Mark6. Gross Zeev7. Keinan Ehud8. Marek Ilan9. Mayan Galia 10. Stanger Amnon11. Szpilman Alex M.