Prof. Ami Moyal is the President of Afeka School of Engineering and the newly elected Chairman of the Israeli Council for Larger Training’s Planning & Budgeting Committee. He holds a Ph.D. in Electrical & Pc Engineering from Ben-Gurion College and is an knowledgeable in automated speech recognition. Earlier than changing 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 training by implementing curriculum reforms, progressive pedagogy, {industry} collaborations, and restructured studying environments to reinforce graduates’ workforce readiness whereas fostering a tradition of excellence and pleasure in studying.
Together with your intensive 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 immediately?
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 targeted on particular know-how purposes like speech recognition and pc imaginative and prescient, largely invisible to most people.
Immediately, AI has moved from specialised purposes to changing into foundational throughout nearly each sector. Probably the most vital shift has been the democratization of AI instruments. After we developed speech recognition know-how, these methods 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 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 train all topics, whereas getting 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 talents like crucial pondering, creativity, moral judgment, and interpersonal abilities have gotten more and more helpful. This represents maybe essentially 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 growth and information switch between academia and {industry}. At Afeka for instance, we educate college students with cutting-edge AI abilities who then be a part of {industry}, whereas {industry} professionals typically be a part of as adjunct college, 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 way of 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 concerning these crucial wants can positively speed up the usage of AI and innovation.
Immediately we’re seeing how these relationships are evolving with the democratization of AI instruments. Probably the most profitable AI improvements in Israel emerge when educational excellence meets entrepreneurial problem-solving. As AI continues to rework industries, strengthening these connections can be important for sustaining Israel’s aggressive edge.
How has DeepSeek’s current breakthrough—proving that cutting-edge AI will 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 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 helpful.
Examples like DeepSeek reveal that Israeli startups can take part in foundational mannequin growth fairly 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 sturdy area experience—comparable 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 instructing 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 firms 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 typically offers helpful technical coaching, nevertheless it 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 advanced challenges with restricted assets, fostering a tradition that values resourcefulness, adaptability, and inventive problem-solving—what we name “chutzpah.” Failure is commonly seen as a stepping stone fairly 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, should 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 growth.
Lastly, resulting from our small home market, Israeli startups assume globally from day one, designing options for worldwide markets. This world mindset encourages formidable pondering and options that handle common challenges.
With many reservists coming back from navy 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 known as up for reserve obligation through the current battle. Whereas difficult, this example presents distinctive alternatives for Israel’s future in technological innovation that can affect the following wave of AI startups:
Battlefield expertise has bolstered the significance of AI methods which are each strong and resilient, whereas fixing real-life issues with fast affect. When lives rely on know-how functioning appropriately underneath unpredictable situations, it creates a wholly totally 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 methods 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 is vital that these reservists full their levels. At Afeka, we have applied complete help for returning reservists to make sure they’ll full their training on time.
What are some standout Israeli AI startups that you just consider will make a world affect within the subsequent few years?
Whereas I do not intently monitor particular startups, I can spotlight a number of areas the place Israeli AI firms are positioned to make vital world affect, 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 rework diagnostics and therapy, with a current give attention to emergency drugs; Protection and homeland safety purposes, leveraging operational expertise to create more practical methods.
Nonetheless, what distinguishes essentially 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 preserve 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 Information Science and Clever Methods to organize graduates with the specialised abilities wanted for the AI-driven economic system.
Afeka School lately performed a research highlighting AI proficiency as essentially 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 growth precedence, solely 7-9% at the moment contemplate 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 fairly than structured organizational methods.
AI is now not confined to specialised roles—it is changing into a basic competency throughout nearly all high-tech positions. But organizations are nonetheless determining the best way to formalize these necessities.
On the identical 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 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 advanced issues whereas growing a crucial understanding of the know-how’s limitations.
Our College of Information 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 economic system?
As AI capabilities develop, distinctly human talents change into extra helpful, not much less.
Crucial pondering is probably essentially the most important talent in an AI-powered economic system. When working with methods that may generate convincing however probably flawed outputs, professionals must rigorously consider info, determine inconsistencies, and validate outcomes towards 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” 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 have 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 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 consultants, enterprise strategists, and designers, integrating various insights to develop complete options.
The moral dimensions of AI growth add one other needed competency. Engineers should contemplate the implications of their work on society, on folks, on the setting, and so on. determine potential biases, and make accountable design decisions.
How do you see the function of engineering training evolving to make sure Israel stays a pacesetter in AI innovation?
Competencies comparable to—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 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 fashionable office. This profile serves as our compass, guiding all points of the tutorial expertise towards growing these competencies in our college students.
All parts of the graduate profile, together with private abilities have been integrated as studying outcomes of our curricula by way of 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 advanced, 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 Training, which we have developed based mostly on our expertise remodeling engineering training, affords a strategy that may be utilized throughout the tutorial continuum. By defining graduate profiles at every instructional stage and aligning studying experiences accordingly, we will strengthen Israel’s human capital pipeline from Pre-Ok by way of skilled growth.
What traits 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 subtle 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 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 underneath excessive situations 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 consultants 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 steadiness between people and AI in making certain safety and sustaining important providers. We’ll doubtless see better funding in AI purposes that improve infrastructure safety, emergency response, and demanding methods.
Success will rely on our skill to adapt our instructional methods, preserve our entrepreneurial tradition, and proceed growing the human capital that has at all times been Israel’s best useful resource.