Prof. Ami Moyal is the President of Afeka Faculty of Engineering and the newly elected Chairman of the Israeli Council for Greater Schooling’s Planning & Budgeting Committee. He holds a Ph.D. in Electrical & Laptop Engineering from Ben-Gurion College and is an skilled in automated speech recognition. Earlier than turning into Afeka’s President in 2014, he based the Afeka Heart for Language Processing and led the College of Electrical Engineering. As President, he’s devoted to reworking engineering schooling by implementing curriculum reforms, modern pedagogy, {industry} collaborations, and restructured studying environments to boost graduates’ workforce readiness whereas fostering a tradition of excellence and pleasure in studying.
Along with your in depth background in each academia and {industry}—having led Afeka Faculty 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 this moment?
All through my profession in high-tech and academia I’ve witnessed a exceptional transformation in Israel’s AI panorama. Within the early 2000s once I led a speech recognition firm, AI applied sciences had been centered on particular expertise purposes like speech recognition and laptop imaginative and prescient, largely invisible to most of the people.
Right this moment, AI has moved from specialised purposes to turning into foundational throughout nearly each sector. Probably the most vital shift has been the democratization of AI instruments. After we developed speech recognition expertise, these programs required vital experience and sources in improvement and utilization was modest. Now, with instruments like ChatGPT, AI capabilities are accessible to almost everybody.
From my present place main an engineering school, 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 educate all topics, whereas getting ready college students for an AI-augmented office. The main focus has shifted from merely imparting data to creating crucial competencies – an umbrella time period for data, abilities and values.
As AI handles extra routine duties, distinctly human talents 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 turn out to be extra, not much less, important.
Given your expertise main each a speech recognition firm and an educational 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 useful cycle of expertise improvement and data 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 college, bringing sensible insights that hold 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 expertise, we participated in worldwide analysis partnerships alongside tutorial establishments. This expertise knowledgeable my method when establishing the Afeka Heart for Language Processing, the place we performed utilized analysis tasks with {industry} companions by joint funding mechanisms that foster academia-industry collaborations.
Particularly, within the AI subject, in addition to expertise we’d like large-scale databases and large computing energy. Academia-industry cooperation relating to these crucial wants can positively speed up the usage of AI and innovation.
Right this moment we’re seeing how these relationships are evolving with the democratization of AI instruments. Probably the most profitable AI improvements in Israel emerge when tutorial excellence meets entrepreneurial problem-solving. As AI continues to remodel industries, strengthening these connections can be important for sustaining Israel’s aggressive edge.
How has DeepSeek’s current breakthrough—proving that cutting-edge AI could be developed with out billion-dollar budgets—modified the aggressive panorama for Israeli startups?
DeepSeek’s answer reinforces what I’ve at all times believed: ingenuity can usually outweigh monetary energy. This is a crucial 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 beneficial.
Examples like DeepSeek show that Israeli startups can take part in foundational mannequin improvement relatively than being restricted to constructing purposes on present platforms. This opens alternatives for startups to create specialised AI options in industries the place Israel already has robust area experience—akin to cybersecurity, healthcare, and agricultural expertise.
That mentioned, creating superior AI fashions nonetheless requires substantial experience and sources. The barrier has been lowered, not eradicated. From an academic perspective, this highlights the significance of instructing not simply AI fundamentals but additionally rules 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 turn out 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. Army service usually supplies beneficial technical coaching, but it surely additionally develops resilience, management, teamwork, and strategic pondering. By school, Israelis are already ready for challenges with a maturity that enhances their skill to succeed.
Our cultural mindset is one other essential issue. Israel has at all times confronted complicated challenges with restricted sources, fostering a tradition that values resourcefulness, adaptability, and inventive problem-solving—what we name “chutzpah.” Failure is usually seen as a stepping stone relatively than a setback.
Moreover, our small geographical dimension creates distinctive networking alternatives. With quick distances between tutorial establishments, tech hubs, and funding facilities, relationships type simply. In Israel, when you do not personally know somebody, you positively know somebody who is aware of them. This close-knit setting permits concepts and experience to flow into effectively all through our innovation ecosystem, accelerating collaboration and improvement.
Lastly, because of our small home market, Israeli startups suppose globally from day one, designing options for worldwide markets. This international mindset encourages formidable pondering and options that tackle common challenges.
With many reservists getting back from army 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 current battle. Whereas difficult, this case presents distinctive alternatives for Israel’s future in technological innovation that can affect the subsequent wave of AI startups:
Battlefield expertise has bolstered the significance of AI programs which can be each sturdy and resilient, whereas fixing real-life issues with rapid influence. When lives depend upon expertise functioning accurately beneath unpredictable circumstances, it creates a wholly totally different commonplace for reliability and transparency.
I additionally anticipate innovation in human-AI collaboration. In high-pressure eventualities, the connection between human operators and AI programs turns into crucial—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 carried out complete assist for returning reservists to make sure they will full their schooling on time.
What are some standout Israeli AI startups that you just imagine will make a world influence 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 international influence, particularly in mild of the present circumstances: Cybersecurity, constructing on Israel’s well-established experience on this area; Healthcare and medical expertise, the place Israeli startups are making use of AI to remodel diagnostics and therapy, with a current give attention to emergency medication; Protection and homeland safety purposes, leveraging operational expertise to create simpler programs.
Nonetheless, 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 influence.
It is also essential 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 Techniques to organize graduates with the specialised abilities wanted for the AI-driven economic system.
Afeka Faculty not too long ago 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 Abilities Index survey revealed an fascinating 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 the moment think about it important when hiring new workers. This means we’re in a transitional interval the place AI adoption is primarily pushed by particular person initiative relatively than structured organizational methods.
AI is not confined to specialised roles—it is turning into a elementary competency throughout nearly all high-tech positions. But organizations are nonetheless determining how one can formalize these necessities.
On the similar time, conventional engineering abilities are nonetheless extremely valued. For top-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 college 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 fully redesigned. In our Language Processing course, college students not write primary code that AI can simply generate. As an alternative, they take AI-generated code to extra refined ranges, making use of it to resolve complicated issues whereas creating a crucial understanding of the expertise’s limitations.
Our College 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., crucial pondering, management, communication) are important for professionals working in an AI-powered economic system?
As AI capabilities develop, distinctly human talents turn out to be extra beneficial, not much less.
Vital pondering is probably probably the most important talent in an AI-powered economic system. When working with programs that may generate convincing however doubtlessly flawed outputs, professionals must fastidiously consider data, determine inconsistencies, and validate outcomes towards real-world data.
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 essential talent. Engineers are not confined to creating algorithms, they have 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 repeatedly replace their understanding. This has additionally elevated the significance of self-directed studying.
Collaboration throughout disciplines has additionally turn out to be more and more essential as AI purposes span conventional boundaries. Engineers must work successfully with area specialists, enterprise strategists, and designers, integrating numerous insights to develop complete options.
The moral dimensions of AI improvement add one other vital competency. Engineers should think about the implications of their work on society, on individuals, on the setting, and so forth. determine potential biases, and make accountable design decisions.
How do you see the function of engineering schooling evolving to make sure Israel stays a pacesetter in AI innovation?
Competencies akin to—crucial pondering, creativity, communication, teamwork, self-directed studying and moral judgment—should turn out to be central to engineering schooling 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 whole set of data, skilled abilities, private abilities and values engineers want within the fashionable office. This profile serves as our compass, guiding all points of the academic expertise towards creating these competencies in our college students.
All parts 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 private abilities wanted for skilled success.
This method represents a shift from data switch to competency improvement. Whereas technical data and abilities stay important, the power to use that data 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 talents alongside technical abilities.
The Afeka Framework for STEM Schooling, which we have developed based mostly on our expertise reworking engineering schooling, provides a technique that may be utilized throughout the academic continuum. By defining graduate profiles at every instructional stage and aligning studying experiences accordingly, we will strengthen Israel’s human capital pipeline from Pre-Okay by 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 refined options with out large budgets. This development performs to Israel’s conventional benefits in agility and inventive 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 creating expertise beneath excessive circumstances 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 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 current battle has highlighted the crucial significance of technological capabilities and the necessity for optimum stability between people and AI in making certain safety and sustaining important providers. We’ll possible see better funding in AI purposes that improve infrastructure safety, emergency response, and significant programs.
Success will depend upon our skill to adapt our instructional programs, keep our entrepreneurial tradition, and proceed creating the human capital that has at all times been Israel’s best useful resource.
