Prof. Ami Moyal is the President of Afeka Faculty 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 professional in computerized 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 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 outstanding transformation in Israel’s AI panorama. Within the early 2000s after I led a speech recognition firm, AI applied sciences had been centered on particular know-how purposes like speech recognition and laptop imaginative and prescient, largely invisible to most of the people.
At present, AI has moved from specialised purposes to changing 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 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 academic processes, in addition to analysis and work processes. We’re shifting past merely educating 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 important competencies – an umbrella time period for data, abilities and values.
As AI handles extra routine duties, distinctly human skills like important 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 grow to be extra, not much less, very 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 helpful 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 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 tutorial establishments. This expertise knowledgeable my strategy when establishing the Afeka Heart for Language Processing, the place we carried out utilized analysis tasks with {industry} companions by joint funding mechanisms that foster academia-industry collaborations.
Particularly, within the AI subject, apart from expertise we want large-scale databases and big computing energy. Academia-industry cooperation relating to these important wants can positively speed up using AI and innovation.
At present we’re seeing how these relationships are evolving with the democratization of AI instruments. Essentially the most profitable AI improvements in Israel emerge when tutorial excellence meets entrepreneurial problem-solving. As AI continues to rework industries, strengthening these connections shall 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 resolution reinforces what I’ve at all times believed: ingenuity can usually 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 beneficial.
Examples like DeepSeek reveal 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—corresponding to cybersecurity, healthcare, and agricultural know-how.
That mentioned, creating 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 a protracted historical past of technological innovation. What distinctive components inside Israel’s startup ecosystem allow AI and tech firms to grow to be 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. Army service usually offers beneficial 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 capability 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 artistic problem-solving—what we name “chutzpah.” Failure is usually considered as a stepping stone slightly than a setback.
Moreover, our small geographical measurement creates distinctive networking alternatives. With quick distances between tutorial 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 allows concepts and experience to flow into effectively all through our innovation ecosystem, accelerating collaboration and improvement.
Lastly, resulting from 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 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 referred to as up for reserve obligation in the course of the latest 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 strengthened the significance of AI techniques which are each strong and resilient, whereas fixing real-life issues with quick influence. When lives rely on know-how functioning accurately below 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 techniques turns into important—understanding when to belief automated suggestions versus when human judgment ought to prevail.
Nevertheless, for this innovation potential to be realized, it is vital that these reservists full their levels. At Afeka, we have applied complete assist for returning reservists to make sure they’ll full their schooling on time.
What are some standout Israeli AI startups that you simply imagine will make a worldwide influence 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 international influence, 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 rework diagnostics and remedy, with a latest give attention to emergency drugs; Protection and homeland safety purposes, leveraging operational expertise to create more practical 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 influence.
It is also essential for tutorial institutes to be agile and preserve open dialogue with {industry} to concentrate on rising developments 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 arrange graduates with the specialised abilities wanted for the AI-driven financial system.
Afeka Faculty just lately carried out a examine highlighting AI proficiency as probably the most sought-after ability in Israel’s high-tech sector. Had 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% presently think about 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 changing into a basic competency throughout just about all high-tech positions. But organizations are nonetheless determining learn how to formalize these necessities.
On the similar time, conventional engineering abilities are nonetheless extremely valued. For prime-tech positions, the power to work independently topped the listing (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 fundamental code that AI can simply generate. As an alternative, they take AI-generated code to extra refined ranges, making use of it to resolve advanced issues whereas creating a important understanding of the know-how’s limitations.
Our College of Information 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., important pondering, management, communication) are important for professionals working in an AI-powered financial system?
As AI capabilities develop, distinctly human skills grow to be extra beneficial, not much less.
Crucial pondering is maybe probably the most important ability in an AI-powered financial system. When working with techniques that may generate convincing however probably flawed outputs, professionals must rigorously consider data, determine inconsistencies, and validate outcomes in opposition to real-world data.
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 be an essential ability. Engineers are now not confined to creating 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 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 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 needed competency. Engineers should think about the implications of their work on society, on individuals, on the surroundings, and many others. determine 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 corresponding to—important pondering, creativity, communication, teamwork, self-directed studying and moral judgment—should grow to be central to engineering schooling 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 academic 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 elements of the academic expertise towards creating 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 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 data switch to competency improvement. Whereas technical data and abilities stay important, the power to use that data in advanced, real-world eventualities 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 remodeling engineering schooling, presents a technique that may be utilized throughout the academic continuum. By defining graduate profiles at every academic stage and aligning studying experiences accordingly, we are able to strengthen Israel’s human capital pipeline from Pre-Ok by skilled improvement.
What developments 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 artistic problem-solving. Our innovation ecosystem thrives on small, agile groups tackling particular challenges—precisely the surroundings the place these extra accessible AI improvement approaches can flourish.
I anticipate 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 know-how below 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 anticipate AI to play an more and more central position in nationwide resilience. The latest battle has highlighted the important significance of technological capabilities and the necessity for optimum stability between people and AI in making certain safety and sustaining important companies. We’ll probably see higher funding in AI purposes that improve infrastructure safety, emergency response, and demanding techniques.
Success will rely on our capability to adapt our instructional techniques, preserve our entrepreneurial tradition, and proceed creating the human capital that has at all times been Israel’s biggest useful resource.