In recent years, the Ministry of Health in Israel has made efforts to increase the number of students studying medicine in the country. Currently, medical studies are offered at various universities such as Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Ben Gurion in Be’er Sheva, the Technion in Haifa, Bar Ilan in Safed, and Ariel in Samaria. The Council for Higher Education is currently reviewing the application to open studies at Reichman University in Herzliya and the Weizmann Institute.
The Weizmann Institute will offer a School of Medicine that will train 40 Israeli students annually. Graduates will receive a double degree in MD (Doctor of Medicine) and PhD (Doctor of Research) upon completion of the program. Students will be involved in both research activities at the Weizmann Institute and clinical training at hospitals like Sheba Medical Center and Ichilov Hospital.
The training program will provide two career paths for graduates: focusing on basic research and understanding clinical needs or focusing on medical practice. The curriculum will emphasize medicine and basic research in natural and exact sciences with an emphasis on data science and artificial intelligence. Enrollment is expected to begin in 2024 with studies commencing in October 2025.
The establishment of the medical school is made possible by a donation of 400 million shekels from the Gutwirt Foundation, a philanthropic organization that supports various projects in Israel. The goal is to train exceptional scientists and researchers who will contribute to academic and applied research globally while bridging the gap between research and practical medical applications, benefiting countless individuals in Israel and beyond.