A Doctoral student at the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology. In 2001, she completed a B.Sc. at the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. She completed the Technion's Master of Business Administration (MBA) program in 2006, and her master’s degree in group counseling in 2015. Her Doctoral research is focused on novice and expert STEM teachers, their professional growth, and the relationships between the mentors and their mentees – the novice teachers. Effrat Akiri’s current research links a system perspective of teachers’ professional growth, personal and interpersonal relationships, and the importance of teaching and assessing the STEM disciplines.