Open University of Israel [SEP] inception
and founded in 1974, modeled after the UK's Open University. The first semester of studies commenced on October 17, 1976. In 1980, the Open University was officially recognized as an institute of higher learning in Israel, and was accredited to award undergraduate or bachelor's degrees (BA). In 1982, 41 graduates were awarded BA diplomas at the university's first diploma ceremony.
By 1987, the university had 11,000 students and offered 180 courses. The university grew rapidly and by 1993, it had 20,000 students
CEO since 2010. Avi previously acted as the Vice President of Marketing and Sales at Azimuth Technologies, a leading defense company based in Israel. Avi also earned his MBA at the University of Tel Aviv.
Oren Yosifon has been the company's CTO since 2007 and has held other technology management positions since the company's inception in 2000. Oren has designed numerous open source intelligence solutions for intelligence organizations and law enforcement agencies around the world. His area of expertise is the application of Semantic Web technologies in text and link analysis