Feeling excellent? Join us!

The Faculty of Engineering’s excellence program, the 700 Club, is undergoing a facelift to herald in the upcoming academic year. The program which is designed for students with exceptional academic achievements, high GPAs, and a score of over 700 on their psychometric exams (hence the name), will be led by Prof. Alex Fish, head of the EnICS impact research center. “It’s more than a program,” he stresses, “our goal is not only to cultivate academic excellence and provide members with skills that will help them in their future careers, but also make them feel at home, encourage them to form support networks, and grow on a personal level.”

Beyond the aims of other programs geared to developing entrepreneurship, management, leadership, creativity, and getting a good grasp of the local hi-tech industry, 700 club members will have the opportunity to expand their knowledge in a whole range of fields from culture to music to athletics and more.  “In my experience, excellence in one field goes hand in hand with excellence in others, and I want our club members to introduce these fields to the club, so we can experience them together,” says Prof. Fish. “At EnICS, for example, we started a music club where postgraduate students meet with students from the Department of Music, play and listen to music, and give concerts. Our goal is to replicate this model in the 700 club, by setting up sub-clubs in specific areas of interest to our members.”

Naturally, the club will not only focus on leisure time activities. Throughout their courses of study, club members will be able to engage directly in research conducted at the Faculty, take part in social events, and be mentored individually by faculty staff and research students from different labs. Also in the works is a dedicated academic course for the club’s most promising members that will prepare them for postgraduate work, depending, of course on COVID. “We’ve been thinking a lot over these past few months, and started working on a detailed program of versatile meetings and lectures by key figures in academia and industry,” says Prof. Fish. “Clearly, things have to be adapted to fit the new reality. In the first semester, all sessions will be on Zoom, and we will do our best to provide club members with the finest content to advance their professional careers. In the second semester, depending on how things evolve, we intend to have face-to-face sessions, industry tours, and other activities.”

Club membership is open to candidates prior to their first year, based on their record of excellence.  Students who are already members can continue based on evaluations of their academic excellence. In addition to extracurricular activities of various kinds, the 700 Club members will receive a stipend during the bachelor’s degree.