Prof. Ami Moyal is the President of Afeka School of Engineering and the newly elected Chairman of the Israeli Council for Increased Training’s Planning & Budgeting Committee. He holds a Ph.D. in Electrical & Pc Engineering from Ben-Gurion College and is an professional in computerized speech recognition. Earlier than turning into Afeka’s President in 2014, he based the Afeka Middle for Language Processing and led the College of Electrical Engineering. As President, he’s devoted to remodeling engineering training 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 outstanding 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 purposes like speech recognition and laptop imaginative and prescient, largely invisible to most people.
At the moment, AI has moved from specialised purposes to turning into foundational throughout just about each sector. Essentially the most important shift has been the democratization of AI instruments. After we developed speech recognition know-how, these techniques required important experience and assets in improvement 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 instructing AI to integrating AI-powered instruments into how we train all topics, whereas making ready college students for an AI-augmented office. The main target has shifted from merely imparting information to growing crucial competencies – an umbrella time period for information, abilities and values.
As AI handles extra routine duties, distinctly human skills like crucial pondering, creativity, moral judgment, and interpersonal abilities have gotten more and more beneficial. This represents maybe probably the most profound shift: recognizing that as AI capabilities develop, human abilities change into extra, not much less, very 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 improvement 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 usually be part of as adjunct school, bringing sensible insights that preserve 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 Middle for Language Processing, the place we performed utilized analysis initiatives with {industry} companions via joint funding mechanisms that foster academia-industry collaborations.
Particularly, within the AI discipline, in addition to expertise we want large-scale databases and large computing energy. Academia-industry cooperation relating to these crucial 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 might be important for sustaining Israel’s aggressive edge.
How has DeepSeek’s latest breakthrough—proving that cutting-edge AI might be developed with out billion-dollar budgets—modified the aggressive panorama for Israeli startups?
DeepSeek’s answer reinforces what I’ve all the time believed: ingenuity can usually outweigh monetary energy. This is a crucial reinforcement of Israel’s aggressive benefit which has all the time 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 beneficial.
Examples like DeepSeek exhibit that Israeli startups can take part in foundational mannequin improvement slightly than being restricted to constructing purposes on current platforms. This opens alternatives for startups to create specialised AI options in industries the place Israel already has robust area experience—resembling 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 instructing not simply AI fundamentals but additionally ideas of environment friendly implementation.
Israel has a protracted historical past of technological innovation. What distinctive components inside Israel’s startup ecosystem allow AI and tech corporations to change into so profitable?
Israel’s success in technological innovation stems from a singular mixture of things which have created the “Startup Nation” phenomenon.
First is Israel’s distinctive human capital. Navy service usually gives beneficial technical coaching, but it surely additionally develops resilience, management, teamwork, and strategic pondering. 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 all the time confronted complicated challenges with restricted assets, fostering a tradition that values resourcefulness, adaptability, and artistic problem-solving—what we name “chutzpah.” Failure is usually seen as a stepping stone slightly than a setback.
Moreover, our small geographical measurement creates distinctive networking alternatives. With brief 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 setting allows concepts and experience to flow into effectively all through our innovation ecosystem, accelerating collaboration and improvement.
Lastly, attributable to our small home market, Israeli startups suppose globally from day one, designing options for worldwide markets. This international mindset encourages bold pondering and options that handle common challenges.
With many reservists coming back from navy service, how do you see battlefield innovation influencing the subsequent wave of AI startups in Israel?
At Afeka alone, over 44% of our scholar physique was known as up for reserve obligation in the course of the latest battle. Whereas difficult, this example presents distinctive alternatives for Israel’s future in technological innovation that may affect the subsequent 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 quick affect. When lives rely upon know-how functioning appropriately beneath unpredictable circumstances, it creates a completely completely different normal for reliability and transparency.
I additionally anticipate innovation in human-AI collaboration. In high-pressure eventualities, the connection between human operators and AI techniques turns into crucial—understanding when to belief automated suggestions versus when human judgment ought to prevail.
Nevertheless, for this innovation potential to be realized, it is important that these reservists full their levels. At Afeka, we have carried out complete assist for returning reservists to make sure they will full their training on time.
What are some standout Israeli AI startups that you just imagine will make a world affect 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 important international affect, particularly in gentle 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 remedy, with a latest give attention to emergency drugs; Protection and homeland safety purposes, leveraging operational expertise to create simpler techniques.
Nevertheless, what distinguishes probably the most promising Israeli AI startups is not simply their technical capabilities however their give attention to fixing significant issues with clear societal affect.
It is also necessary for educational institutes to be agile and keep open dialogue with {industry} to pay attention to rising traits and replace curricula accordingly. In anticipation of the expansion in AI applied sciences, Afeka established a brand new College of Knowledge Science and Clever Programs to arrange graduates with the specialised abilities wanted for the AI-driven financial system.
Afeka School lately performed a research 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 arrange college students for this AI-driven job market?
Our annual Abilities 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 improvement precedence, solely 7-9% at present contemplate 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 slightly than structured organizational methods.
AI is now not confined to specialised roles—it is turning into a elementary competency throughout just about all high-tech positions. But organizations are nonetheless determining the 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 checklist (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 give attention to foundational abilities that employers persistently worth.
Some programs, for instance, have been utterly redesigned. In our Language Processing course, college students now not write primary code that AI can simply generate. As a substitute, they take AI-generated code to extra subtle ranges, making use of it to unravel complicated issues whereas growing a crucial understanding of the know-how’s limitations.
Our College of Knowledge Science and AI addresses specialised training, however we acknowledge that each one engineers want familiarity with AI no matter their specialization.
Past technical AI abilities, what different competencies (e.g., crucial pondering, management, communication) are important for professionals working in an AI-powered financial system?
As AI capabilities develop, distinctly human skills change into extra beneficial, not much less.
Vital pondering is maybe probably the most important talent in an AI-powered financial system. When working with techniques that may generate convincing however doubtlessly flawed outputs, professionals must fastidiously consider data, determine 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 usually require artistic “out-of-the-box” pondering that helps envision novel purposes and approaches that AI would not generate independently.
Communication can also be an necessary 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, usually to non-technical decision-makers.
With the accelerating tempo of technological change, engineers must constantly replace their understanding. This has additionally elevated the significance of self-directed studying.
Collaboration throughout disciplines has additionally change into more and more essential as AI purposes span conventional boundaries. Engineers must work successfully with area specialists, enterprise strategists, and designers, integrating various insights to develop complete options.
The moral dimensions of AI improvement add one other crucial competency. Engineers should contemplate the implications of their work on society, on individuals, on the setting, and so forth. determine potential biases, and make accountable design selections.
How do you see the function of engineering training evolving to make sure Israel stays a pacesetter in AI innovation?
Competencies resembling—crucial pondering, creativity, communication, teamwork, self-directed studying and moral judgment—should change into central to engineering training if Israel is to take care of its management in AI innovation. This requires a elementary 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 entire set of information, skilled abilities, private abilities and values engineers want within the trendy office. This profile serves as our compass, guiding all points of the tutorial expertise towards growing these competencies in our college students.
All components of the graduate profile, together with private abilities have been integrated as studying outcomes of our curricula via 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 improvement. Whereas technical information and abilities stay important, the power to use that information in complicated, real-world eventualities is what really 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 training, provides a technique 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-Okay via skilled improvement.
What traits do you anticipate shaping Israel’s AI {industry} in 2025 and past?
The democratization of AI improvement and utilization will proceed, enabling smaller groups to create subtle options with out huge budgets. This pattern 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 setting the place these extra accessible AI improvement approaches can flourish.
I count on the battlefield improvements rising from our present battle will affect the subsequent wave of AI startups in Israel. As I discussed earlier, the expertise of growing know-how beneath excessive circumstances creates a singular perspective on necessities like robustness, reliability, and human-AI collaboration.
The expertise panorama will evolve considerably as effectively. Whereas demand for AI experience will intensify, the definition of that experience will broaden past specialised researchers to incorporate area specialists who can successfully apply AI of their fields. This shift aligns with the hole we recognized in our Abilities 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 function in nationwide resilience. The latest battle has highlighted the crucial significance of technological capabilities and the necessity for optimum steadiness between people and AI in making certain safety and sustaining important providers. We’ll doubtless see larger funding in AI purposes that improve infrastructure safety, emergency response, and important techniques.
Success will rely upon our potential to adapt our academic techniques, keep our entrepreneurial tradition, and proceed growing the human capital that has all the time been Israel’s best useful resource.
