For its activities on behalf of reservists: SCE won the "Minister of Defense Shield" award

The Sami Shamoon College of Engineering (SCE) has won the 2026 "Minister of Defense Shield" award, a prestigious honor granted to organizations and institutions that have demonstrated exceptional commitment to reservists.

The award will be presented to SCE in recognition of the broad, consistent, and comprehensive support the college has provided to students and faculty members who were called up for reserve duty since the outbreak of the "Iron Swords" war. The award will be presented at a festive ceremony in the presence of Minister of Defense Israel Katz, IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, and Chief Reserve Officer Brigadier General Beni Ben-Ari, alongside other academic institutions.

Since October 7, more than 2,000 SCE students have been called up for reserve duty, an unprecedented scope in the higher education system. Many of them served hundreds of days in the reserves, some under "Order 8," while coping with significant mental, physical, and academic strain. It is important to note that nearly half of the outstanding students at the college are reservists.

Behind the data are people, personal stories, and complex experiences of service and combat, the effects of which continue long after returning from the front. Understanding that returning to the study routine is not simple, SCE has been working throughout the war to provide reservists with a broad support envelope, tailored to their academic, personal, and emotional needs. The college views supporting reservists as a moral and national responsibility. Since the beginning of the war, it has established a comprehensive support system including individual academic adjustments, flexible study plans and concessions, tutoring, and personal mentoring, with the goal of maintaining a high academic standard and continuity of studies.

Alongside the academic response, SCE also provides emotional support and financial assistance, and a variety of activities to strengthen personal and community resilience, including lectures, workshops, and dedicated activities for students who have returned from the front. All this is done out of a concept of total responsibility: to see, to ask, to listen, and to identify distress, even after returning from reserve duty.

According to Professor Yehuda Haddad, founder of the Sami Shamoon College of Engineering (SCE):

"Winning the Minister of Defense Shield is a badge of honor and significant recognition of our activities. The college has had the privilege of educating value-driven and dedicated students who serve in the reserves and demonstrate exceptional responsibility and leadership throughout the way. Our academic, moral, and national duty is to stand by them and provide them with all the support needed so they can continue to succeed. We are proud of our students, and of reservists wherever they are."