Prof. Ami Moyal is the President of Afeka School of Engineering and the newly elected Chairman of the Israeli Council for Greater Training’s Planning & Budgeting Committee. He holds a Ph.D. in Electrical & Laptop Engineering from Ben-Gurion College and is an skilled in computerized speech recognition. Earlier than turning into Afeka’s President in 2014, he based the Afeka Heart for Language Processing and led the Faculty of Electrical Engineering. As President, he’s devoted to remodeling engineering schooling by implementing curriculum reforms, progressive pedagogy, {industry} collaborations, and restructured studying environments to boost graduates’ workforce readiness whereas fostering a tradition of excellence and pleasure in studying.
Together with your in depth background in each academia and {industry}—having led Afeka School of Engineering and beforehand serving as CEO of Pure Speech Communication—how have you ever seen Israel’s AI panorama evolve through the years, and what key shifts stand out to you right now?
All through my profession in high-tech and academia I’ve witnessed a exceptional transformation in Israel’s AI panorama. Within the early 2000s after I led a speech recognition firm, AI applied sciences had been targeted on particular know-how functions like speech recognition and laptop imaginative and prescient, largely invisible to most of the people.
At the moment, AI has moved from specialised functions to turning into foundational throughout just about each sector. Essentially the most vital shift has been the democratization of AI instruments. After we developed speech recognition know-how, these techniques required vital experience and assets in growth and utilization was modest. Now, with instruments like ChatGPT, AI capabilities are accessible to just about everybody.
From my present place main an engineering faculty, I see AI reshaping instructional processes, in addition to analysis and work processes. We’re shifting past merely educating AI to integrating AI-powered instruments into how we train all topics, whereas getting ready college students for an AI-augmented office. The main focus has shifted from merely imparting information to growing essential competencies – an umbrella time period for information, abilities and values.
As AI handles extra routine duties, distinctly human skills like essential considering, creativity, moral judgment, and interpersonal abilities have gotten more and more helpful. This represents maybe probably the most profound shift: recognizing that as AI capabilities develop, human abilities grow to be extra, not much less, important.
Given your expertise main each a speech recognition firm and a tutorial establishment, what synergies do you see between academia and {industry} in accelerating AI innovation in Israel?
Having labored on the intersection of academia and {industry}, I’ve noticed a number of highly effective connections that may speed up AI innovation.
First, there is a helpful cycle of expertise growth and information switch between academia and {industry}. At Afeka for instance, we educate college students with cutting-edge AI abilities who then be part of {industry}, whereas {industry} professionals typically be part of as adjunct school, bringing sensible insights that maintain our curriculum and academic course of related and up to date.
Second, collaborative analysis initiatives between academia and {industry} speed up innovation. Throughout my time in speech recognition know-how, we participated in worldwide analysis partnerships alongside educational establishments. This expertise knowledgeable my strategy when establishing the Afeka Heart for Language Processing, the place we performed utilized analysis initiatives with {industry} companions by joint funding mechanisms that foster academia-industry collaborations.
Particularly, within the AI discipline, in addition to expertise we’d like large-scale databases and large computing energy. Academia-industry cooperation relating to these essential wants can positively speed up using AI and innovation.
At the moment we’re seeing how these relationships are evolving with the democratization of AI instruments. Essentially the most profitable AI improvements in Israel emerge when educational excellence meets entrepreneurial problem-solving. As AI continues to remodel industries, strengthening these connections shall be important for sustaining Israel’s aggressive edge.
How has DeepSeek’s current breakthrough—proving that cutting-edge AI might be developed with out billion-dollar budgets—modified the aggressive panorama for Israeli startups?
DeepSeek’s resolution reinforces what I’ve at all times believed: ingenuity can typically outweigh monetary energy. This is a vital reinforcement of Israel’s aggressive benefit which has at all times been its high-quality human useful resource pool. When innovation relies upon extra on mental capital than monetary capital, Israel’s distinctive expertise pool turns into much more helpful.
Examples like DeepSeek exhibit that Israeli startups can take part in foundational mannequin growth quite than being restricted to constructing functions on current platforms. This opens alternatives for startups to create specialised AI options in industries the place Israel already has sturdy area experience—equivalent to cybersecurity, healthcare, and agricultural know-how.
That mentioned, growing superior AI fashions nonetheless requires substantial experience and assets. The barrier has been lowered, not eradicated. From an academic perspective, this highlights the significance of educating not simply AI fundamentals but in addition ideas of environment friendly implementation.
Israel has an extended historical past of technological innovation. What distinctive components inside Israel’s startup ecosystem allow AI and tech corporations to grow to be so profitable?
Israel’s success in technological innovation stems from a novel mixture of things which have created the “Startup Nation” phenomenon.
First is Israel’s distinctive human capital. Navy service typically gives helpful technical coaching, nevertheless it additionally develops resilience, management, teamwork, and strategic considering. By faculty, Israelis are already ready for challenges with a maturity that enhances their potential to succeed.
Our cultural mindset is one other essential issue. Israel has at all times confronted complicated challenges with restricted assets, fostering a tradition that values resourcefulness, adaptability, and artistic problem-solving—what we name “chutzpah.” Failure is commonly seen as a stepping stone quite than a setback.
Moreover, our small geographical measurement creates distinctive networking alternatives. With quick distances between educational establishments, tech hubs, and funding facilities, relationships kind simply. In Israel, in case you do not personally know somebody, you positively know somebody who is aware of them. This close-knit surroundings permits concepts and experience to flow into effectively all through our innovation ecosystem, accelerating collaboration and growth.
Lastly, because of our small home market, Israeli startups suppose globally from day one, designing options for worldwide markets. This world mindset encourages formidable considering and options that handle common challenges.
With many reservists getting back from army service, how do you see battlefield innovation influencing the following wave of AI startups in Israel?
At Afeka alone, over 44% of our scholar physique was referred to as up for reserve responsibility through the current battle. Whereas difficult, this case presents distinctive alternatives for Israel’s future in technological innovation that may affect the following wave of AI startups:
Battlefield expertise has bolstered the significance of AI techniques which might be each strong and resilient, whereas fixing real-life issues with instant impression. When lives rely upon know-how functioning appropriately below unpredictable situations, it creates a wholly totally different customary for reliability and transparency.
I additionally anticipate innovation in human-AI collaboration. In high-pressure situations, the connection between human operators and AI techniques turns into essential—understanding when to belief automated suggestions versus when human judgment ought to prevail.
Nonetheless, for this innovation potential to be realized, it’s important that these reservists full their levels. At Afeka, we have applied complete help for returning reservists to make sure they’ll full their schooling on time.
What are some standout Israeli AI startups that you just imagine will make a world impression within the subsequent few years?
Whereas I do not carefully monitor particular startups, I can spotlight a number of areas the place Israeli AI corporations are positioned to make vital world impression, particularly in mild of the present circumstances: Cybersecurity, constructing on Israel’s well-established experience on this area; Healthcare and medical know-how, the place Israeli startups are making use of AI to remodel diagnostics and therapy, with a current concentrate on emergency drugs; Protection and homeland safety functions, leveraging operational expertise to create more practical techniques.
Nonetheless, what distinguishes probably the most promising Israeli AI startups is not simply their technical capabilities however their concentrate on fixing significant issues with clear societal impression.
It is also vital for tutorial institutes to be agile and keep open dialogue with {industry} to pay attention to rising tendencies and replace curricula accordingly. In anticipation of the expansion in AI applied sciences, Afeka established a brand new Faculty of Knowledge Science and Clever Methods to organize graduates with the specialised abilities wanted for the AI-driven financial system.
Afeka School lately performed a examine highlighting AI proficiency as probably the most sought-after talent in Israel’s high-tech sector. Have been there any key findings that stood out to you, and the way is Afeka adapting its curriculum to organize college students for this AI-driven job market?
Our annual Expertise Index survey revealed an attention-grabbing paradox in Israel’s high-tech sector. Whereas 55% of high-tech managers recognized AI proficiency as their prime private growth precedence, solely 7-9% presently take into account it important when hiring new staff. This implies we’re in a transitional interval the place AI adoption is primarily pushed by particular person initiative quite than structured organizational methods.
AI is now not confined to specialised roles—it is turning into a basic competency throughout just about all high-tech positions. But organizations are nonetheless determining the right way to formalize these necessities.
On the identical time, conventional engineering abilities are nonetheless extremely valued. For prime-tech positions, the power to work independently topped the record (61%), adopted by problem-solving capabilities and self-directed studying.
At Afeka, we’re taking motion in two methods. We’re encouraging school to include AI ideas and instruments into their programs, whereas strengthening our concentrate on foundational abilities that employers persistently worth.
Some programs, for instance, have been utterly redesigned. In our Language Processing course, college students now not write fundamental code that AI can simply generate. As an alternative, they take AI-generated code to extra refined ranges, making use of it to unravel complicated issues whereas growing a essential understanding of the know-how’s limitations.
Our Faculty of Knowledge Science and AI addresses specialised schooling, however we acknowledge that each one engineers want familiarity with AI no matter their specialization.
Past technical AI abilities, what different competencies (e.g., essential considering, management, communication) are important for professionals working in an AI-powered financial system?
As AI capabilities develop, distinctly human skills grow to be extra helpful, not much less.
Vital considering is probably probably the most important talent in an AI-powered financial system. When working with techniques that may generate convincing however doubtlessly flawed outputs, professionals have to rigorously consider data, establish inconsistencies, and validate outcomes in opposition to real-world information.
Moreover, whereas AI is nice at sample recognition and optimization inside outlined parameters, breakthrough improvements sometimes require artistic “out-of-the-box” considering that helps envision novel functions and approaches that AI would not generate independently.
Communication can be an vital talent. Engineers are now not confined to growing algorithms, they need to clarify the potential, capabilities and limitations of the applied sciences they develop successfully, precisely and persuasively, typically to non-technical decision-makers.
With the accelerating tempo of technological change, engineers have to repeatedly replace their understanding. This has additionally elevated the significance of self-directed studying.
Collaboration throughout disciplines has additionally grow to be more and more essential as AI functions span conventional boundaries. Engineers have to work successfully with area consultants, enterprise strategists, and designers, integrating numerous insights to develop complete options.
The moral dimensions of AI growth add one other mandatory competency. Engineers should take into account the implications of their work on society, on folks, on the surroundings, and many others. establish potential biases, and make accountable design decisions.
How do you see the position of engineering schooling evolving to make sure Israel stays a pacesetter in AI innovation?
Competencies equivalent to—essential considering, creativity, communication, teamwork, self-directed studying and moral judgment—should grow to be central to engineering schooling if Israel is to keep up its management in AI innovation. This requires a basic transformation in how we put together engineers for the workforce.
At Afeka, we have pioneered a competency-based instructional mannequin that begins by defining the “graduate profile”—the whole set of information, skilled abilities, private abilities and values engineers want within the trendy office. This profile serves as our compass, guiding all facets of the tutorial expertise towards growing these competencies in our college students.
All components of the graduate profile, together with private abilities have been included as studying outcomes of our curricula by a gradual course of of accelerating proficiency. We map how every course contributes to constructing these competencies, making a cohesive studying journey that culminates in graduates who possess each technical experience and the non-public abilities wanted for skilled success.
This strategy represents a shift from information switch to competency growth. Whereas technical information and abilities stay important, the power to use that information in complicated, real-world situations is what actually differentiates profitable engineers. We have moved past conventional lecture codecs to include extra project-based studying, {industry} collaborations, and interdisciplinary challenges that develop problem-solving skills alongside technical abilities.
The Afeka Framework for STEM Training, which we have developed primarily based on our expertise reworking engineering schooling, provides a strategy that may be utilized throughout the tutorial continuum. By defining graduate profiles at every instructional stage and aligning studying experiences accordingly, we are able to strengthen Israel’s human capital pipeline from Pre-Ok by skilled growth.
What tendencies do you anticipate shaping Israel’s AI {industry} in 2025 and past?
The democratization of AI growth and utilization will proceed, enabling smaller groups to create refined options with out large budgets. This development performs to Israel’s conventional benefits in agility and artistic problem-solving. Our innovation ecosystem thrives on small, agile groups tackling particular challenges—precisely the surroundings the place these extra accessible AI growth approaches can flourish.
I count on the battlefield improvements rising from our present battle will affect the following wave of AI startups in Israel. As I discussed earlier, the expertise of growing know-how below excessive situations creates a novel perspective on necessities like robustness, reliability, and human-AI collaboration.
The expertise panorama will evolve considerably as properly. Whereas demand for AI experience will intensify, the definition of that experience will broaden past specialised researchers to incorporate area consultants who can successfully apply AI of their fields. This shift aligns with the hole we recognized in our Expertise Index between managers’ rising curiosity in AI and present hiring practices—we’re witnessing the start of a extra complete integration of AI throughout skilled roles.
Lastly, I count on AI to play an more and more central position in nationwide resilience. The current battle has highlighted the essential significance of technological capabilities and the necessity for optimum stability between people and AI in guaranteeing safety and sustaining important companies. We’ll seemingly see better funding in AI functions that improve infrastructure safety, emergency response, and significant techniques.
Success will rely upon our potential to adapt our instructional techniques, keep our entrepreneurial tradition, and proceed growing the human capital that has at all times been Israel’s best useful resource.
