Prof. Ami Moyal is the President of Afeka College of Engineering and the newly elected Chairman of the Israeli Council for Higher Education’s Planning & Budgeting Committee. He holds a Ph.D. in Electrical & Computer Engineering from Ben-Gurion University and is an authority in automatic speech recognition. Before becoming Afeka’s President in 2014, he founded the Afeka Center for Language Processing and led the School of Electrical Engineering. As President, he is devoted to remodeling engineering education by implementing curriculum reforms, revolutionary pedagogy, industry collaborations, and restructured learning environments to reinforce graduates’ workforce readiness while fostering a culture of excellence and joy in learning.
Together with your extensive background in each academia and industry—having led Afeka College of Engineering and previously serving as CEO of Natural Speech Communication—how have you ever seen Israel’s AI landscape evolve over time, and what key shifts stand out to you today?
Throughout my profession in high-tech and academia I’ve witnessed a remarkable transformation in Israel’s AI landscape. Within the early 2000s once I led a speech recognition company, AI technologies were focused on specific technology applications like speech recognition and computer vision, largely invisible to most of the people.
Today, AI has moved from specialized applications to becoming foundational across virtually every sector. Essentially the most significant shift has been the democratization of AI tools. Once we developed speech recognition technology, these systems required significant expertise and resources in development and usage was modest. Now, with tools like ChatGPT, AI capabilities are accessible to just about everyone.
From my current position leading an engineering college, I see AI reshaping educational processes, in addition to research and work processes. We’re moving beyond simply teaching AI to integrating AI-powered tools into how we teach all subjects, while preparing students for an AI-augmented workplace. The main target has shifted from merely imparting knowledge to developing critical competencies – an umbrella term for knowledge, skills and values.
As AI handles more routine tasks, distinctly human abilities like critical pondering, creativity, ethical judgment, and interpersonal skills have gotten increasingly helpful. This represents perhaps probably the most profound shift: recognizing that as AI capabilities grow, human skills develop into more, not less, vital.
Given your experience leading each a speech recognition company and an instructional institution, what synergies do you see between academia and industry in accelerating AI innovation in Israel?
Having worked on the intersection of academia and industry, I’ve observed several powerful connections that may speed up AI innovation.
First, there is a helpful cycle of talent development and knowledge transfer between academia and industry. At Afeka for instance, we educate students with cutting-edge AI skills who then join industry, while industry professionals often join as adjunct faculty, bringing practical insights that keep our curriculum and academic process relevant and updated.
Second, collaborative research initiatives between academia and industry speed up innovation. During my time in speech recognition technology, we participated in international research partnerships alongside academic institutions. This experience informed my approach when establishing the Afeka Center for Language Processing, where we conducted applied research projects with industry partners through joint funding mechanisms that foster academia-industry collaborations.
Specifically, within the AI field, besides talent we’d like large-scale databases and big computing power. Academia-industry cooperation regarding these critical needs can definitely speed up the usage of AI and innovation.
Today we’re seeing how these relationships are evolving with the democratization of AI tools. Essentially the most successful AI innovations in Israel emerge when academic excellence meets entrepreneurial problem-solving. As AI continues to rework industries, strengthening these connections can be essential for maintaining Israel’s competitive edge.
How has DeepSeek’s recent breakthrough—proving that cutting-edge AI might be developed without billion-dollar budgets—modified the competitive landscape for Israeli startups?
DeepSeek’s solution reinforces what I’ve all the time believed: ingenuity can often outweigh financial power. That is a very important reinforcement of Israel’s competitive advantage which has all the time been its high-quality human resource pool. When innovation depends more on mental capital than financial capital, Israel’s exceptional talent pool becomes much more helpful.
Examples like DeepSeek display that Israeli startups can take part in foundational model development reasonably than being limited to constructing applications on existing platforms. This opens opportunities for startups to create specialized AI solutions in industries where Israel already has strong domain expertise—equivalent to cybersecurity, healthcare, and agricultural technology.
That said, developing advanced AI models still requires substantial expertise and resources. The barrier has been lowered, not eliminated. From an academic perspective, this highlights the importance of teaching not only AI fundamentals but in addition principles of efficient implementation.
Israel has a protracted history of technological innovation. What unique aspects inside Israel’s startup ecosystem enable AI and tech firms to develop into so successful?
Israel’s success in technological innovation stems from a novel combination of things which have created the “Startup Nation” phenomenon.
First is Israel’s exceptional human capital. Military service often provides helpful technical training, nevertheless it also develops resilience, leadership, teamwork, and strategic pondering. By college, Israelis are already prepared for challenges with a maturity that enhances their ability to succeed.
Our cultural mindset is one other crucial factor. Israel has all the time faced complex challenges with limited resources, fostering a culture that values resourcefulness, adaptability, and inventive problem-solving—what we call “chutzpah.” Failure is commonly viewed as a stepping stone reasonably than a setback.
Moreover, our small geographical size creates unique networking opportunities. With short distances between academic institutions, tech hubs, and investment centers, relationships form easily. In Israel, when you don’t personally know someone, you certainly know someone who knows them. This close-knit environment enables ideas and expertise to flow into efficiently throughout our innovation ecosystem, accelerating collaboration and development.
Finally, attributable to our small domestic market, Israeli startups think globally from day one, designing solutions for international markets. This global mindset encourages ambitious pondering and solutions that address universal challenges.
With many reservists getting back from military service, how do you see battlefield innovation influencing the subsequent wave of AI startups in Israel?
At Afeka alone, over 44% of our student body was called up for reserve duty through the recent conflict. While difficult, this example presents unique opportunities for Israel’s future in technological innovation that can influence the subsequent wave of AI startups:
Battlefield experience has reinforced the importance of AI systems which might be each robust and resilient, while solving real-life problems with immediate impact. When lives rely upon technology functioning appropriately under unpredictable conditions, it creates a completely different standard for reliability and transparency.
I also anticipate innovation in human-AI collaboration. In high-pressure scenarios, the connection between human operators and AI systems becomes critical—understanding when to trust automated recommendations versus when human judgment should prevail.
Nonetheless, for this innovation potential to be realized, it’s vital that these reservists complete their degrees. At Afeka, we have implemented comprehensive support for returning reservists to make sure they will complete their education on time.
What are some standout Israeli AI startups that you just consider will make a worldwide impact in the subsequent few years?
While I do not closely track specific startups, I can highlight several areas where Israeli AI firms are positioned to make significant global impact, specifically in light of the present circumstances: Cybersecurity, constructing on Israel’s well-established expertise on this domain; Healthcare and medical technology, where Israeli startups are applying AI to rework diagnostics and treatment, with a recent concentrate on emergency medicine; Defense and homeland security applications, leveraging operational experience to create simpler systems.
Nonetheless, what distinguishes probably the most promising Israeli AI startups is not just their technical capabilities but their concentrate on solving meaningful problems with clear societal impact.
It is also essential for educational institutes to be agile and maintain open dialogue with industry to pay attention to emerging trends and update curricula accordingly. In anticipation of the expansion in AI technologies, Afeka established a brand new School of Data Science and Intelligent Systems to organize graduates with the specialized skills needed for the AI-driven economy.
Afeka College recently conducted a study highlighting AI proficiency as probably the most sought-after skill in Israel’s high-tech sector. Were there any key findings that stood out to you, and the way is Afeka adapting its curriculum to organize students for this AI-driven job market?
Our annual Skills Index survey revealed an interesting paradox in Israel’s high-tech sector. While 55% of high-tech managers identified AI proficiency as their top personal development priority, only 7-9% currently consider it essential when hiring recent employees. This means we’re in a transitional period where AI adoption is primarily driven by individual initiative reasonably than structured organizational strategies.
AI is not any longer confined to specialized roles—it’s becoming a fundamental competency across virtually all high-tech positions. Yet organizations are still determining the best way to formalize these requirements.
At the identical time, traditional engineering skills are still highly valued. For prime-tech positions, the flexibility to work independently topped the list (61%), followed by problem-solving capabilities and self-directed learning.
At Afeka, we’re taking motion in two ways. We’re encouraging faculty to include AI concepts and tools into their courses, while strengthening our concentrate on foundational skills that employers consistently value.
Some courses, for instance, have been completely redesigned. In our Language Processing course, students now not write basic code that AI can easily generate. As an alternative, they take AI-generated code to more sophisticated levels, applying it to resolve complex problems while developing a critical understanding of the technology’s limitations.
Our School of Data Science and AI addresses specialized education, but we recognize that each one engineers need familiarity with AI no matter their specialization.
Beyond technical AI skills, what other competencies (e.g., critical pondering, leadership, communication) are essential for professionals working in an AI-powered economy?
As AI capabilities grow, distinctly human abilities develop into more helpful, not less.
Critical pondering is maybe probably the most essential skill in an AI-powered economy. When working with systems that may generate convincing but potentially flawed outputs, professionals must fastidiously evaluate information, discover inconsistencies, and validate results against real-world knowledge.
Moreover, while AI is great at pattern recognition and optimization inside defined parameters, breakthrough innovations typically require creative “out-of-the-box” pondering that helps envision novel applications and approaches that AI would not generate independently.
Communication can be a very important skill. Engineers aren’t any longer confined to developing algorithms, they have to explain the potential, capabilities and limitations of the technologies they develop effectively, accurately and persuasively, often to non-technical decision-makers.
With the accelerating pace of technological change, engineers must repeatedly update their understanding. This has also elevated the importance of self-directed learning.
Collaboration across disciplines has also develop into increasingly crucial as AI applications span traditional boundaries. Engineers must work effectively with domain experts, business strategists, and designers, integrating diverse insights to develop comprehensive solutions.
The moral dimensions of AI development add one other vital competency. Engineers must consider the implications of their work on society, on people, on the environment, etc. discover potential biases, and make responsible design decisions.
How do you see the role of engineering education evolving to make sure Israel stays a frontrunner in AI innovation?
Competencies equivalent to—critical pondering, creativity, communication, teamwork, self-directed learning and ethical judgment—must develop into central to engineering education if Israel is to keep up its leadership in AI innovation. This requires a fundamental transformation in how we prepare engineers for the workforce.
At Afeka, we have pioneered a competency-based educational model that begins by defining the “graduate profile”—the entire set of data, skilled skills, personal skills and values engineers need in the fashionable workplace. This profile serves as our compass, guiding all elements of the tutorial experience toward developing these competencies in our students.
All elements of the graduate profile, including personal skills have been incorporated as learning outcomes of our curricula through a gradual means of increasing proficiency. We map how each course contributes to constructing these competencies, making a cohesive learning journey that culminates in graduates who possess each technical expertise and the non-public skills needed for skilled success.
This approach represents a shift from knowledge transfer to competency development. While technical knowledge and skills remain essential, the flexibility to use that knowledge in complex, real-world scenarios is what truly differentiates successful engineers. We have moved beyond traditional lecture formats to include more project-based learning, industry collaborations, and interdisciplinary challenges that develop problem-solving abilities alongside technical skills.
The Afeka Framework for STEM Education, which we have developed based on our experience transforming engineering education, offers a technique that might be applied across the tutorial continuum. By defining graduate profiles at each educational stage and aligning learning experiences accordingly, we are able to strengthen Israel’s human capital pipeline from Pre-K through skilled development.
What trends do you anticipate shaping Israel’s AI industry in 2025 and beyond?
The democratization of AI development and usage will proceed, enabling smaller teams to create sophisticated solutions without massive budgets. This trend plays to Israel’s traditional benefits in agility and inventive problem-solving. Our innovation ecosystem thrives on small, agile teams tackling specific challenges—precisely the environment where these more accessible AI development approaches can flourish.
I expect the battlefield innovations emerging from our current conflict will influence the subsequent wave of AI startups in Israel. As I discussed earlier, the experience of developing technology under extreme conditions creates a novel perspective on requirements like robustness, reliability, and human-AI collaboration.
The talent landscape will evolve significantly as well. While demand for AI expertise will intensify, the definition of that expertise will broaden beyond specialized researchers to incorporate domain experts who can effectively apply AI of their fields. This shift aligns with the gap we identified in our Skills Index between managers’ growing interest in AI and current hiring practices—we’re witnessing the start of a more comprehensive integration of AI across skilled roles.
Finally, I expect AI to play an increasingly central role in national resilience. The recent conflict has highlighted the critical importance of technological capabilities and the necessity for optimal balance between humans and AI in ensuring security and maintaining essential services. We’ll likely see greater investment in AI applications that enhance infrastructure protection, emergency response, and important systems.
Success will rely upon our ability to adapt our academic systems, maintain our entrepreneurial culture, and proceed developing the human capital that has all the time been Israel’s best resource.
