Investing in Brains, Building a Nation

When Shalev Malka received the phone call notifying him that he had been selected as a Schulich Leader at Tel Aviv University, Shalev was standing on a roof in northern Israel, washing solar panels during reserve duty.

For a moment, the noise of the war, the pressure, the exhaustion, everything disappeared. “I was so excited,” he recalls. “It gave me a major boost of confidence. Someone recognized that I have potential.”

That moment would become a turning point in the life of a young man already accustomed to carrying responsibility on his shoulders.

The Vision

The Schulich Leader Scholarship program, founded in 2012 by Canadian philanthropist Seymour Schulich, is widely considered one of Israel’s most prestigious and generous scholarship programs for STEM students. It accepts 65 students in total from six Israeli universities each year, granting scholarships based on merit, social leadership and financial need. It is also Canada’s most coveted scholarship, awarding 100 annual STEM scholarships to the country’s top students.

 
At Tel Aviv University, where 10 students are selected each year, the scholarship covers  full living expenses, including housing, giving exceptional young leaders the freedom to focus entirely on their studies, research, and ambitions. 

For students like Shalev, that kind of support is life-changing.

A Humble Beginning

Shalev grew up in Gan Ner, a small community near Afula on the Gilboa mountain range — part of Israel’s geographic and socioeconomic periphery, but rich in something else: values. He describes his upbringing as rooted in a “kibbutz mentality”: collective responsibility, Zionism, community, and contribution.

He was always an excellent student, driven not by pressure, but by curiosity. “My parents were supportive, but never pushy,” he says. “I just loved learning.” And yet, despite his natural academic abilities, Shalev did not initially envision a future in technology.

His army service changed that.

Serving in military intelligence exposed him to a world he had never encountered before: systems, logic, code, technology, innovation. The experience fundamentally altered his trajectory.

Today, Shalev is a second-year Computer Engineering student at TAU, where he is already thinking beyond code and into the future of AI hardware, the intersection between the digital and physical worlds.

“I’m fascinated by both sides,” he explains. “The brain, the logic and code, but also the physical part: the cards, the chips, the hardware itself. I want to be in the connection between them.”

His ambitions extend far beyond the classroom: he’s taking additional courses in entrepreneurship, learning about venture capital, business development and the startup world. He believes that being a great engineer is not enough; you also have to be a great entrepreneur. 

Aiming for the Stars

Shalev also serves as the Autonomy Team Leader at TAUver, a student-led engineering team building a fully autonomous Mars rover from scratch for international competitions such as the European Rover Challenge (ERC). The project focuses on developing advanced robotics systems capable of navigating and performing complex tasks in extraterrestrial environments.

Exodus, the rover, built by the TAUver team

For Shalev, the role combines everything that excites him most: engineering, leadership, innovation, and problem-solving under pressure. But what makes Shalev remarkable is not only his technical ambition. It is his insistence that technology must serve humanity.

“I want to wake up every morning and build something that improves quality of life,” he says. “Something that helps society. It’s not enough for me to just work for a company that makes money.”

That sense of mission runs through everything he does.

During the war, while serving in reserve duty, Shalev established a drone unit for his community from scratch, applying the knowledge and experience he gained during his military service. He also volunteers in food distribution efforts and speaks to young people across Israel about leadership, motivation, and entrepreneurship.

He believes one of Israel’s greatest challenges today is not only technological, but educational.

“The education system is struggling,” he says. “Young people need leaders who speak to them at eye level. Real-world leadership. Real-world skills.”

At just 24 years old, he has already become one of those leaders.

What began as personal notes to himself about discipline, motivation, and self-growth eventually evolved into a book. Initially printed in just 30 copies for family and friends, the book unexpectedly gained traction. Today, teachers use it in the classroom.
“Success is not something you’re born with,” he says. “You can build motivation. You can grow.”

A Powerful Engine for Change

That philosophy aligns closely with the vision behind the Schulich Leader Scholarships program itself.

For many students, especially those coming from Israel’s periphery or after years of military service, that support is transformative. “After three years in the army, finances become a real concern,” says Shalev. “The scholarship gives me the ability to focus on my greatest resource: time.”

He pauses.

“And beyond the money, it means that someone believes in me enough to invest in me.”

That investment extends beyond the individual student.

The Schulich Leaders program has become a powerful engine for cultivating the kind of talent Israel increasingly depends on: ambitious young innovators who combine academic excellence with social responsibility, leadership, and national resilience.

At a time when Israel’s future will depend heavily on scientific advancement, technological innovation, and entrepreneurial thinking, programs like Schulich Leaders are helping ensure that the country’s brightest minds can fully realize their potential, regardless of economic background.

The impact is already visible.

Over the years, Schulich alumni have gone on to launch startups, pursue groundbreaking research, and emerge as leaders across Israel’s technology ecosystem. But equally important is the culture the program creates.

“The scholarship creates a very high-quality community,” says Shalev. “People help each other. There’s support, networking, mentorship. Everyone pushes each other forward.”

Shalev himself is already thinking about how he can eventually pay that forward.

One day, he hopes to become not only an entrepreneur and engineer, but also a mentor and philanthropist. “I want to contribute back to society in the same way,” he says.

The Schulich Legacy

When he was awarded the scholarship, Shalev read the book Seymour Schulich wrote in 2007 about life and business lessons. He researched the vision behind the Schulich Foundation and the philanthropic legacy of the family, whose support has helped strengthen higher education and innovation in Israel and in Canada.

“It was important for me to know Mr. Schulich’s story, his passions, his reasons for giving, he says. “I think he made a very smart investment: Israel’s brains and talents are our greatest asset.”

Then he adds something more personal. “If I could say anything to Mr. Schulich, I would thank him for believing in me, I would tell him about the immense impact he’s making on Israeli society, and I would tell him that he should be incredibly proud of the legacy he founded.” 

Students like Shalev are the embodiment of a uniquely Israeli story: young people shaped by service, resilience, and community, channeling those experiences into innovation and purpose.

And that is precisely what makes the Schulich Leaders program so extraordinary. It is not simply funding degrees. It is helping build the next generation of global changemakers.