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๐ŸŽ“WELCOME to Tel Aviv University and its International Community of Researchers๐ŸŽ“

Introduction of the Blog and WA group guidelines

  Welcome to the first TAU International Volunteering and Support blog! This blog has been created to give complementary information to the graduated students of TAU and to create a community where we can share thoughts and information. This blog is NOT affiliated or supported by Lowy TAU international school or any of the TAU administrative bodies. This blog is meant to be an informal tool where people can be updated, alongside the Researchers and Scholars in TAU: the peers community , and the PhDs and  group and the informal word-of-mouth. Each PhD student or post-doc is more than welcome to approach and participate in the creation of this blog, acting as a volunteer (with a little basic commitment) but also as an user, where they can collect any sort of information. All of the content posted on this blog is under the responsibility of the person who wrote it and posted it. UPDATE 06.11.23  Guidelines for the WhatsApp group  1.Respect & Kindness: Treat all memb...
Recent posts

Electric bikes and scooters own by a foreign citizen (meaning each one of us)

From August 2024 in Israel it is mandatory to have a license plate on any electric vehicle, except for Segway and hoverboards. The law was approved after the counting of accidents happened daily all over the country, the evidence that these vehicles are really dangerous. The typical procedure is -either for Israeli citizens or foreigners - to register yourself at a specific section of the Ministry of Transportation. In other words, you need a subscription to the register of electric vehicle owners. The procedure requires to the owner: - To be above 16 (age) - to possess a driving license (Israeli and foreign accepted) or to pass the A3 driving license test, designed exactly for the riding of simple veichles. - to already possess the veichles to be registered  - to have an helmet (it's mandatory, also for the rented veichles such as Lime, Bird and Forth) If you have these requisites, then you can register yourself at the Government Identification System, through the government websi...

Proposed draft of Spring Blossom Trip - the program

Why the trip? The winter rains culminate in a short-lived but intense "green carpet" and floral explosion for a couple of months all over the country. Then, by the time passes, blossoming, flowers and green meadows become more restricted and less scenic. The season starts with red anemones (kalaniot), followed by buttercups (nurit) and poppies (pereg), creating vast red fields. In the southern region of Israel (in particular, the Northern Negev, corresponding to the area of Be 'er Sheva) the blossoming is welcomed by a festival called Darom Adom , the "Red South", held usually from mid-January till the end of February. Other than the beautiful panorama, the communities across the region open their doors to tourists, with agricultural tours, farmers' markets, countryside lodging, sports activities (marches, race, and bike tours), etc... Check HERE the official website of the tourism association who organizes activities and attraction sites in the area. HERE ...

The complicated mechanism of safety insurance within TAU

Working in optimal conditions, without risks (as much as it is humanly possible) is very important for anyone. Our precious time and efforts would not be safe without proper guarantees for a legit working environment.  And TAU takes this matter very seriously: the institution makes sure that everyone on campus is insured against any kind of trouble happening while studying/working on campus. With this post, we want to clarify the intricated mechanisms by which TAU offers protection to all of us. There are different approaches according to the type of student/postdoc you are. Let's see. If you are a regular student (Israeli or international), your insurance on campus is paid by the so called " security fee" that each one has to pay every year and it is displayed on MyTAU platform. In order to be insured, this fee has to be paid by the student themselves directly through the platform, with a credit card. PhD students are also insured this way. The postdocs instead receive t...

What does the "researchers community" mean in TAU? An essay as food for thoughts

The international community in TAU is a broad group of students and scholars who come from everywhere in the world and live for a few years in Tel Aviv. As such, we are definitely entitled to extra care that the typical Israeli citizens don't need because they have spent a lifetime here, in their country. This evidently stark difference, other than the language barrier and the different lifestyles, is also what define us as the international community. But wait a moment. What is a community? What should it do within the University (and maybe also outside) environment? We start this discussion with the assumption that in TAU, the international school is a relatively new concept, that has been developed in the last 8 years plus or minus. And that the international students have been here even before that. In this perspective, the international school is shaping its identity and modus operandi year after year, offering assistance, bureaucracy solutions and various opportunities for ou...

Tel Aviv University International students volunteering and support group and YOU! 2025-2026

The summer is running fast in Tel Aviv, and we are approaching the Jewish festival months of September and October.  On the other hand, the start of the first semester 2025-2026 is far away in time (October 26th), where more regular activities and initiatives will happen. To spice things up, we came up with tons of ideas and for this next months, and later the rest of the year, we would like to launch  a few projects, even better if they get also your involvement! First of all, let us explain the whole new situation. Lately, we managed to open our own community called " Researchers and Scholars in TAU: the Peers community ", a platform TOTALLY independent from the TAU International School (and their WhatsApp community), which we envisioned to be dedicated to us International PhDs and Postdocs and to be a facilitator for all of the members to carry on projects, ideas, discussions etc... well, consider it a parallel (and independent) welfare system to the  TAU International...