Budget
The Technion’s 2020/2021 operating budget was NIS 1,599M, with a planned deficit of NIS 50M, which was higher than the previous year.
Income from VATAT was budgeted with an increase of NIS 16M compared to the previous year, mainly due to an increase in the number of students. Income from Technion funds included a withdrawal of the 2019/2020 interest accrued from the pension reserve fund. Income from Technion societies was budgeted at NIS 44M, which is lower than in the previous year, due to the pandemic. The main change in expenditure is increased allocations for student fellowships. Pension payments are expected to increase as well.
As in the previous year, the main challenges for 2020/2021 were the recruitment and absorption of new faculty; improving the quality of teaching; and upgrading facilities.
The deficit will be covered by a withdrawal from an internal unrestricted fund.
The Technion Management decided to prepare a multi-year development budget built on a 5-year development plan supported by a 5-year development budget. Each year the Technion Council reviews the full 5-year horizon and approves the first year of the plan. The development budget comprises: construction; faculty recruitment; research infrastructure; special projects; preventive maintenance; computing infrastructure; safety; and strategic initiatives. The budget approved for 2020/21 was NIS 170M.
Technion 2019/2020 operating budget was NIS 1,580M, with a planned deficit of NIS 42M. The actual deficit was NIS 47M. The deficit is covered by a withdrawal from an internal unrestricted fund.
Total donations from Technion societies during 2019/2020 amounted to $79.2M, including $11.8M for the Operating Budget. Total expenditure on development projects during 2019/2020 was NIS 189.7M. As of September 30, 2020, Technion investments amounted to NIS 7,032M. The actuarial liability of Technion, as of September 30, 2020 was NIS 6.6B (the consolidated liability of Technion and TRDF was NIS 7.1B).
Corona Crisis
During January 2020 the World Health Organization (WHO) announced the outbreak of the rapidly spreading Coronavirus as a global pandemic. Along with the effect on human life, the outbreak of the virus had significant global and local economic and macroeconomic impact, with growing implications.
With the spread of the virus, capital markets around the world and in Israel responded with a sharp decline in prices and rising volatility.
However, as of mid-April 2021, most markets and indices in Israel and around the world have seen price increases that have erased most of the declines.
As a result, the Technion investment portfolio, which also includes marketable securities and equities and is therefore affected by capital market trends, yielded returns as follows: during the period October 1, 2019 until September 30, 2020 a return of 1.5% was recorded. From October 1,2020 to the end of February 2021, a return of 5.4% was recorded.
Throughout the crisis, the Technion Investment Committee has monitored the state of the capital markets in Israel and abroad. It acted accordingly and in line with the investment policy established by the Technion Council, which is subject to VATAT regulations regarding Israeli university investments.
Technion continues to monitor developments regarding the pandemic in Israel and around the world and acts in accordance with the authorities’ guidelines. Technion upgraded teaching infrastructure to support online instruction and learning, including the necessary investment in equipment, hardware and software.
The Corona crisis has led to increased student enrollment for the 2020/2021 academic year.
The State of Israel began an extensive vaccination campaign in December 2020 and today a large percentage of the population is vaccinated. Since the pandemic is evolving and is characterized by uncertainty, Technion cannot assess the full impact of the pandemic on its activities.
Physical Development
The Division of Construction and Maintenance at Technion faced a challenging year in 2021, navigating the obstacles posed by the pandemic which erupted in March 2020. While frontal teaching on campus ceased, and stricter regulations for research activities and administrative work were issued, most of the construction and maintenance activities continued. In many cases the work progressed at an even faster pace than anticipated.
Taking advantage of the opportunity offered by a nearly empty campus, and working in accordance with stringent Health Ministry regulations, we expedited construction and maintenance operations throughout the entire campus, shortening the schedules of many projects, while experiencing delays in several projects due to difficulties in obtaining supplies.
During this period, the Division focused on completing projects that typically incur a great deal of noise and disturb in-class teaching. An example of this is the Viterbi Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering’s underground parking garage for which excavation of hard rock at a depth of eight meters was required.
Other examples include: Ullmann Teaching Center – fifth and six floor renovations were completed, including the addition of a fire prevention sprinkler system; Zielony Student Union Building – the entire food court was renovated; teaching facilities and study centers across campus – installation of multimedia equipment to facilitate remote learning.
The Elyachar Central Library and Zielony Student Union Building were renovated and extended, and new dormitories and a sports arena were built for students.
Many new labs were established in multiple faculties, and additional research buildings are either under construction or in various planning stages. Electricity, air conditioning systems, and plumbing were modernized. Within the framework of the Green Campus campaign, more solar roof panels were added, and a new electrical supply using natural gas is being investigated.
The campus is being enhanced to make it more walkable and bikeable. New signposts, campus wide, are improving orientation.
Documentation of the Technion Campus Heritage buildings (in addition to the Hadar Campus Complex) is in progress, including guidelines for the renovation of these buildings to meet contemporary standards.
Projects Status Report – Division of Construction and Maintenance
Under Construction:
> New Zisapel Electrical Engineering Building: 5,250 m2, budget NIS 87.23M
> Broshim – 2 new high-rise dormitory buildings: 143 apartments for families, couples and singles, budget NIS 157.5M
> New Andrew and Aviva Goldenberg Architecture Studio Pavilion: 900 m2, budget NIS 17M
> New Sagol Center for Intelligent Composite Materials: 2,800 m2, 3-story building for research laboratories, budget NIS 33M
> Mehoudar Creative Design Center Renovation: budget NIS 13.8M
> Polak Visitors Center Renovation: budget NIS 3.6M
> New water collection reservoir for potable water: 1,500 m3, budget NIS 5M
> New Clinical Skills Training Center: 1,000 m2, budget NIS 9.86M (excluding multimedia)
In the Planning Stage:
> New Rappaport Building for Advanced Medical Research (2): 16,000 m2
> Chemical Waste Disposal Site: budget NIS 5M
> Expansion and renovation of Health Food Innovation Center Pilot Plant: 2,500 m2, budget NIS 31M
> New 3-story Rosman Computer Center building: 2,082 m2, budget NIS 23M
> New Taub building adjacent to existing Taub Faculty of Computer Science building: 5.5-story, 3-story car park; 11,845 m2
> New Andre Deloro Building for Transformative Biomedical Sciences & Engineering: 5-story, car park, 15,100 m2, budget NIS 120M