The IDF does it all, protecting and defending the State of Israel while simultaneously generating educational programs for our civilians, striving to give them the tools needed to succeed in life. whether that be in the IDF or in their civilian life.
Last year, the Bridges program was created to give students who live in rural areas the opportunity to learn new and emerging technologies. This is in an effort to reduce social gaps and give more youth the option to choose a path involving high-tech, therefore increasing their range of opportunities in the future.
In the past year, the program expanded to Druze communities in Israel. The program was formed by the Education and Youth Corps in cooperation with Unit 8200 in the IDF Intelligence Corps.
The Bridges program is made up of 60 cadets, ten coordinators and a company commander. Each cadet goes through a 2 month training course in the Education and Youth Corps, another 5 week course in Unit 8200, before they serve as teachers in the classrooms.
The classes are taught by non-commissioned officers from the Bridges program, which is made up of the Education and Youth Corps and Unit 8200 in the Intelligence Corps. They teach their students in a friendly and interactive way. The students are 7–9th graders who learn the basics of programming and its relevance to their professional lives. The students experience diverse technological areas, learn website and application development, cyber defense and artificial intelligence, as well as the basics of Python programming.
The program is located in 40 local schools across Israel and has more than 18,000 students. The children are given a chance to reduce gaps in their knowledge and increase equal opportunities for students that live in rural areas.
The Bridges program strengthens the students competence and self-belief in themselves. The program gives them knowledge in high-tech and technology, and skills that they can use in their desirable field.
“One of the most rewarding moments that I’ve had in my few months of teaching was at the end of one of my classes and my student came up to me and started sharing with me how she wants to work in the high-tech field when she’s older. We sat down together and researched what she can do beyond what she is learning in class to forward her education in coding. My hope is that she will continue with her love for technology and get to the highest place in the high-tech world.” —CPL Daniella, an educator in the Bridges Program.