Israel has nine million people and even fewer Hebrew speakers, but they like to know and understand things. 

Hebrew Wikipedia is the fifth biggest site in Israel in terms of views, with about 2,000 views per minute. Today, there are more than 300,000 entries on the Israeli Wikipedia site, but unfortunately, there is a quantitative and qualitative shortage when it comes to STEM subjects – science, technology, engineering and mathematics. 

To help remedy this problem, the Social Hub and the Center for the Advancement of Learning and Teaching at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa have teamed up with the non-governmental organization “Wikimedia” to promote the writing of Wikipedia articles by students, with the aim of sharing knowledge with the public and expanding free knowledge in STEM subjects.  

Last month, an introductory meeting was held on campus by Technion professors to promote the writing of scientific and technological entries for Wikipedia by Technion students, as part of their academic studies. 

Dr. Keren Shatzman, coordinator of academic projects at Wikimedia, explained that the organization is working to expand Wikipedia’s free knowledge base. “In this framework, we seek to encourage students to write entries in their fields of study, which will increase the quantity and quality of free information,” she said. 

Although Wikipedia is not an academic source, about 85% of students in Israel use it as “presearch” – to understand basic terms and gain background on the subject before turning to academic articles – so it is important that the information is good quality and reliable,” she added. 

The meeting was attended by the head of the Center for the Promotion of Learning and Teaching at the Technion Dr. Olga Chuntonov; academic chairman of the Technion’s Social Hub Dr. Meirav Aharon Gutman; Hub director Ronit Piso; and students and faculty members. According The collaboration with Wikimedia is part of the social involvement the Hub is trying to encourage at the Technion, said Gutman. “Academia is a public institution and has a role to play towards students as well as towards the general public. Writing entries in Wikipedia is an effective way of disseminating knowledge to teachers, students, and anyone who wishes to do independent learning, outside the confines of the campus.” 

Dafna Levin, a doctoral student and teaching assistant in the “Issues in Urban Sociology course – one of the courses in the project – spoke about working with the students. “This is meticulous work. Trying to find out what our added value is compared to the English entry. We encourage students to upload original images. Writing concisely is complex and important, and a valuable lesson for students.”

Technion students have already participated in writing articles for Wikipedia. The entry “Public Space,” written as part of Gutman’s course, has already received 5,000 views, and “Porosity,” written as part of one of Shavit’s courses, has received about 6,000. 

At the meeting, a graduate student in the urban planning track in the Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning – Zohar Weiss – said that writing the entry on “cooperative housing” combined her personal interest with the professional knowledge she acquired in her studies. “At the end of the day people use it to research everything, but its impact is greater because the information reaches a really wide audience, which is really exciting,” she enthused.