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The courses are FREE for those who qualify. Please call 212 725 1211, ext. 245 or 255 for more information.
Course Selection for Spring 2008
The courses are FREE for those who are qualified.
Bnai Zion also has a library of more than 200 professional videotapes. This video collection covers science and technology, mechanical, electrical and civil engineering, chemistry and environmental protection, computer science and job marketing. Bnai Zion also provides students with 60 different support materials, which are prepared by our instructors. By watching these movies and reading these books, our clients improve their English and learn professional terminology and job-hunting skills.
Background
 In 1987, Bnai Zion initiated a program under its Scientists Division to help scientists and engineers who immigrated to the United States from the former Soviet Union to find jobs. At first, classes were given at the Bnai Zion House, but the number of students soon outgrew the space. In 1991, Bnai Zion formed a partnership with Cooper Union to run the program on a larger scale. The Cooper Union provides the courses, instructors, facilities, and equipment. Bnai Zion conducts outreach, offers students career counseling and job placement services, and workshops for English language skills. Bnai Zion also advertises the program, registers and selects students, and keeps records concerning job placement and enrollment.
Since the inception of the program, the Re-Training Program for Immigrant Engineers has taught over 3,000 students and placed approximately 1,700 of them in jobs.
The Course Offerings
 The program offers more than 20 introductory and high-technology courses designed to bring engineering, computer programming, and business skills of participants up to date. Over the years, the course offerings have been flexible in response to the demands of the job marketplace and the needs of the students.
Courses are held at Cooper Union Albert Nerken School of Engineering, are taught by Cooper Union alumni, graduate students, and experts. Courses are offered in fall and spring, and occasionally during winter inter-session or the summer, depending on funding. Participants receive 24-30 hours of course time per session. Classes varying between two and three hours and the sessions between eight and twelve weeks.
Professor Fred Fontaine, chairman of the electrical engineering department of Cooper Union Albert Nerken School of Engineering, directs the program from Cooper Union. Larisa Akerman, program director of the Bnai Zion Scientists Division, is in charge of this program from the Bnai Zion Foundation.
Eligibility
Now the program welcomes not only Jewish and Russian immigrants, but all immigrants, seeking re-training in the fields of engineering. All participants must be permanent residents, and have work authorization.
Job Placement
Job openings are obtained via our instructors, professional network, previous program students, and referrals from other community organizations, newspaper advertisements, and the internet.
If you would like to advertise a job opening, please contact Bnai Zion Scientists Division at 212-725-1211, ext. 245.
Our Job Developer, Ida Libkhen, will help you with your resume and job placement.
For Program Alumni
We need your help to maintain the quality of the program. Please take a few moments to fill out a follow-up survey. The survey is mailed to you after you have completed the program. Please mail or fax it back to us. The information you provide is important to our fundraising efforts and helps us improve our performance.
Bnai Zion
 Bnai Zion, one of the oldest Jewish humanitarian organizations in the country, has been serving the needs of Jewish people throughout the world since 1908. With a vibrant membership of over 30,000 people representing a diverse cross-section of Jewish life in America, Bnai Zion also supports five major projects in Israel that help residents transcend their difficult past and move forward to a brighter future. The Scientists Division at Bnai Zion employs three full-time staff: Larisa Akerman, Program Director, Sofia Lishanskaya, Database Administrator, and Ida Libkhen, Job Developer. A former program participant, Ms. Akerman received an M.S. in chemistry from Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology and a Ph.D. in 1983 from the Scientific Industrial Union of Mineral Fertilizers, both in Moscow.
Cooper Union
Committed to enhancing the lives of the immigrants and citizens of the Lower East Side, Peter Cooper, self-made inventor and industrialist, established The Cooper Union in 1859. The Cooper Union today remains one of the few colleges in the country to offer all of its students full-tuition scholarships. Through its three top-ranked schools - the School of Art, the Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture, and the Albert Nerken School of Engineering - The Cooper Union has built an international reputation for excellence and innovative approaches to education.
The Albert Nerken School of Engineering is routinely cited among top three undergraduate schools of engineering in America by U.S. News & World Report. The school offers bachelor's and master's degrees in chemical, civil, mechanical, and electrical engineering. It is led by Eleanor Baum, the first woman to become dean of an engineering school in the United States.
The Re-Training program is made possible through generous donations from the Robin Hood Foundation, Hebrew Technical Institute, The Lucius N. Littauer Foundation, and the Winnick Family Foundation. Bnai Zion would also like to thank its individual donors for supporting the Scientists Division.
(weekdays in the evening and weekends during the day)
Several more courses will be available from Continuing Education Program at Cooper Union on a limited basis.
Registration will be by appointment only through Bnai Zion.
(212)725-1211, ext. 245 Monday to Thursday from 10am to 5pm, Friday from 10am to 2pm
www.cooper.edu/professional www.ee.cooper.edu, www.bnaizion.org
If you want to participate in our program, please complete and FAX the Enrollment form and Agreement.
Or, if you prefer, you can mail your papers to Bnai Zion at the address below.
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136 East 39 Street, New York, NY 10016
Subway - Train 4, 5, 6, Grand Central
51 Astor Place, New York, NY 10003
Subway - Train 6, Astor Place
E-Mail: Larisa.akerman@bnaizion.org
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