Kupcinet-Getz International Summer School

Stipends

Participants receive a stipend of NIS 500 per week (up to NIS 4,000 in total)

Accommodations

All international students are provided with eight weeks of free rooming in the dormitories of the neighboring Faculty of Agriculture of the Hebrew University. If you arrive before the beginning of the program, or stay beyond the end of the program, you are responsible for your own living arrangements. Special circumstances will be handled on an individual basis.

Fees

There are NO application, registration or tuition fees.

Travel arrangements and costs

Airfare or any other travel costs are not covered by the program. You are responsible for your own travel arrangements.

Medical Insurance

• Prior to arrival at the Institute, overseas students must purchase an Israeli insurance policy plan for the duration of their stay. The Feinberg Graduate School will assist in this regard.
• Please note that the program covers the cost of the insurance policy.
• Please note that any pre-existing illness or illness contracted before arrival in Israel are generally not covered by these types of insurance plans.

Meal Plan

The Feinberg Graduate School will provide partial meal subsidization (up to NIS 1,000 for the duration of the program). Participants are responsible for their own meals during their stay. There are cafeterias available on campus, and cooking facilities are available in the dormitories.

General

The Kupcinet-Getz International Science School is open to all qualified students regardless of religion, race, color, national origin, age, disability or gender. Each year, the Feinberg Graduate School may accept a limited number of candidates to this program. Therefore, at times, the FGS is forced to reject worthy candidates because the number of suitable applicants exceeds the number of positions available.

Minimum requirements

In order to participate in the Kupcinet-Getz International Science School program, it is required that you:

• Are a student enrolled in an undergraduate science degree program in the Physical Sciences, Chemical Sciences, Life Sciences, Mathematics or Computer Science. BSc and BA degree holders are not eligible to apply.
• You are currently in the next to final year of your studies (i.e. in year two of a three-year program, year three of a four-year program, years three or four of a five-year program). Students in a combined BSc/MSc or BA/MA may apply. However BSc and BA degree holders are NOT eligible to apply.
• Give evidence of a serious interest in scientific research. Previous experience is an advantage, but not a requirement.
• Have a grade point average of 3.6/4.0 or the equivalent in the grades associated with your major subject.
• Are fluent in English, as English is the language of instruction.

How to apply

To apply for the Kupcinet-Getz International Science School, you must complete an online application form. In addition, you are required to upload the required documents listed below. All documents must be in English.

• Copy of the title page of your passport.
• Your CV. If applicable, please include information about previous experience in research, and list any publications that you may have authored.A passport-size photo, should be added to the first page of your CV.
• Current official and authorized transcript, including grades.  An English translation signed by your university registrar must be submitted if the original transcripts are issued in a language other than English.
• Letter of motivation, up to one page in length. Include a couple of brief paragraphs describing your interest in science and in the program, and why you believe you should be admitted.

Reference Letters

Applicants for this program are required to provide us with at least one letter of recommendation that must be uploaded by the recommender directly to our online system. Recommenders must be from the academic world with close familiarity with the applicant. 

Upon completion and submission of the online application form by the applicant, the system sends him/her an email with an individual URL for each of the recommenders listed in the application form.

Choosing and indicating your preference of a research group

On the online application form, there is a closed list from which you are required to select the name of at least one Weizmann Institute scientist, i.e. the Head of a Research Group, whose group you would like to join within the framework of this program. You may select up to three WIS scientists from the above-mentioned group only.

For information on WIS scientists who appear on the list, you may search the Weizmann Institute of Science website, including the homepage of the various faculties and departments. The homepage of the WIS is found here.

Reviewing the applications

The Head of the Kupcinet-Getz program and the Feinberg Graduate School Boards of Studies review all application files and rank them based on the information provided in these files, including CV, transcripts, letters of reference and letter of motivation. Only applications submitted by the deadline and in full, with all relevant documents, are reviewed and considered.

Matching candidates with Weizmann Institute Scientists

The top-ranked applications are sent to scientists at the Weizmann Institute, who decide whether or not to accept the candidates who have requested to work with them specifically.

Acceptance to the program

Once the matching process is done, the Feinberg Graduate School notifies you about the results of your application. This is usually done by February 28.

Scientific research

You will spend approximately eight weeks working on a research project assigned to you by the Head of your research group.

Safety seminar

All participants are required by law to attend a short safety seminar designed especially for this program.

Lectures

Four lectures in four different disciplines are scheduled. These lectures are presented in semi-popular language since they are meant for all the participants, irrespective of their scientific field of interest.

Mini-symposium

Toward the end of the program, you will be required to present your work to the rest of the group, and the Head of the research group hosting you. You will need to obtain the PI’s approval for your PowerPoint presentation. A week before the presentation, you will have to submit an abstract, which will also need the approval of the Head of your research group.

The Feinberg Graduate School will hold an "Effective Presentation Workshop" which will improve your presentation skills prior to the Mini-symposium.

Your PowerPoint Presentation

Your presentation should include the following:
Part 1: A brief description of the general question
Part 2: A brief description of the individual project
Part 3: Summary of the results
Part 4: Conclusions

Structure of the Presentation

Length of abstract: 1/2 a page
Length of presentation: 12 minutes
Number of slides: Up to 10
Questions & discussion: 3-5 minutes

Level

Common denominator for all four disciplines (for example biologists should prepare a presentation at a level understandable to mathematicians, and vice versa).

Time allocation

Scientific research never ends. While you are welcome to work as many hours as you wish, you are expected to spend a minimum of at least eight hours per day in your research group. If you plan to be absent from your research group for one day or more, you must coordinate your absence in advance with the Head of your research group AND the Program Coordinator at the Feinberg Graduate School. Weekends – Fridays and Saturdays in Israel – are usually considered as free time from the program. You may spend your weekends anywhere you choose in Israel. However, the Head of your research group may request your presence in the laboratory for a few hours on Fridays for group meetings, special scheduled experiments, or other activities. In that case, your presence is required.

As a student in the Kupcinet-Getz International Science School, you are expected to devote most of your time to research within the framework of the program. In addition, it is obligatory to participate in all of the program’s activities – both scholastic and extracurricular – including the mini-symposium, lectures, and a safety seminar. Absence from any part of the program must be coordinated in advance with the Program Coordinator.

Extracurricular activities

The program also includes several extracurricular activities:

Tour of the Institute

All participants are invited to participate in a guided tour of the Weizmann Institute Campus. This tour includes a visit to Dr. Chaim Weizmann’s laboratory, the First President’s House, the Garden of Science, and more.

One-day excursions

As a participant in the Kupcinet-Getz International Science School program, you will have the opportunity to go on a couple of one-day excursions to tour different parts of Israel. The tours may vary from one cycle to another. Places and areas that were toured in the past (not necessarily all of them during one cycle of the program) include: Jerusalem, Caesarea, Acre, Haifa, Rosh Hanikra, Masada, the Dead Sea, Qumran Caves, Ein Gedi and more. Note: Participation is obligatory in all the above-mentioned activities

Sports and recreation facilities

The Feinberg Graduate School will provide a 10-entry card to the WIS Recreation Center. The facilities at the Meyer and Shirley Weisgal Recreation Center, located on the Institute grounds, include tennis courts, swimming pools, basketball courts, and more. Also available is the David Moross Fitness Center, located at the heart of the campus, that can be used by students for a low fee.

The Kupcinet-Getz International Science School was established in memory of Karyn Kupcinet by her parents, the late Mr. and Mrs. Irving Kupcinet of Chicago, Illinois, USA, in 1971. In 2001, it expanded in memory of Emma and Oscar Getz through the two co-executors of their estate, Mr. William Getz and Mr. Ralph Silver. In 2010, the Feinberg Graduate School began to administrate the program, which had been administrated earlier by the Academic Secretariat of the Weizmann Institute of Science. Since its inception, over 1,100 overseas students have attended this highly successful program.