Prof. Ami Moyal, President Of Afeka College Of Engineering – Interview Series

Prof. Ami Moyal is nan President of Afeka College of Engineering and nan recently elected Chairman of nan Israeli Council for Higher Education’s Planning & Budgeting Committee. He holds a Ph.D. successful Electrical & Computer Engineering from Ben-Gurion University and is an master successful automatic reside recognition. Before becoming Afeka’s President successful 2014, he founded nan Afeka Center for Language Processing and led nan School of Electrical Engineering. As President, he is dedicated to transforming engineering acquisition by implementing program reforms, innovative pedagogy, manufacture collaborations, and restructured learning environments to heighten graduates' workforce readiness while fostering a civilization of excellence and joyousness successful learning.

With your extended inheritance successful some academia and industry—having led Afeka College of Engineering and antecedently serving arsenic CEO of Natural Speech Communication—how person you seen Israel’s AI scenery germinate complete nan years, and what cardinal shifts guidelines retired to you today?

Throughout my profession successful high-tech and academia I've witnessed a singular translator successful Israel's AI landscape. In nan early 2000s erstwhile I led a reside nickname company, AI technologies were focused connected circumstantial exertion applications for illustration reside nickname and machine vision, mostly invisible to nan wide public.

Today, AI has moved from specialized applications to becoming foundational crossed virtually each sector. The astir important displacement has been nan democratization of AI tools. When we developed reside nickname technology, these systems required important expertise and resources successful improvement and usage was modest. Now, pinch devices for illustration ChatGPT, AI capabilities are accessible to astir everyone.

From my existent position starring an engineering college, I spot AI reshaping acquisition processes, arsenic good arsenic investigation and activity processes. We're moving beyond simply school AI to integrating AI-powered devices into really we thatch each subjects, while preparing students for an AI-augmented workplace. The attraction has shifted from simply imparting knowledge to processing captious competencies – an umbrella word for knowledge, skills and values.

As AI handles much regular tasks, distinctly quality abilities for illustration captious thinking, creativity, ethical judgment, and interpersonal skills are becoming progressively valuable. This represents possibly nan astir profound shift: recognizing that arsenic AI capabilities grow, quality skills go more, not less, vital.

Given your acquisition starring some a reside nickname institution and an world institution, what synergies do you spot betwixt academia and manufacture successful accelerating AI invention successful Israel?

Having worked astatine nan intersection of academia and industry, I've observed respective powerful connections that tin accelerate AI innovation.

First, there's a beneficial rhythm of talent improvement and knowledge transportation betwixt academia and industry. At Afeka for example, we amended students pinch cutting-edge AI skills who past subordinate industry, while manufacture professionals often subordinate arsenic adjunct faculty, bringing applicable insights that support our program and acquisition process applicable and updated.

Second, collaborative investigation initiatives betwixt academia and manufacture accelerate innovation. During my clip successful reside nickname technology, we participated successful world investigation partnerships alongside world institutions. This acquisition informed my attack erstwhile establishing nan Afeka Center for Language Processing, wherever we conducted applied investigation projects pinch manufacture partners done associated backing mechanisms that foster academia-industry collaborations.

Specifically, successful nan AI field, too talent we request large-scale databases and monolithic computing power. Academia-industry practice regarding these captious needs tin decidedly accelerate nan usage of AI and innovation.

Today we are seeing really these relationships are evolving pinch nan democratization of AI tools. The astir successful AI innovations successful Israel look erstwhile world excellence meets entrepreneurial problem-solving. As AI continues to toggle shape industries, strengthening these connections will beryllium basal for maintaining Israel's competitory edge.

How has DeepSeek’s caller breakthrough—proving that cutting-edge AI tin beryllium developed without billion-dollar budgets—changed nan competitory scenery for Israeli startups?

DeepSeek's solution reinforces what I've ever believed: ingenuity tin often outweigh financial power. This is an important reinforcement of Israel's competitory advantage which has ever been its high-quality quality assets pool. When invention depends much connected intelligence superior than financial capital, Israel's exceptional talent excavation becomes moreover much valuable.

Examples for illustration DeepSeek show that Israeli startups tin participate successful foundational exemplary improvement alternatively than being constricted to building applications connected existing platforms. This opens opportunities for startups to create specialized AI solutions successful industries wherever Israel already has beardown domain expertise—such arsenic cybersecurity, healthcare, and cultivation technology.

That said, processing precocious AI models still requires important expertise and resources. The obstruction has been lowered, not eliminated. From an acquisition perspective, this highlights nan value of school not conscionable AI fundamentals but besides principles of businesslike implementation.

Israel has a agelong history of technological innovation. What unsocial factors wrong Israel’s startup ecosystem alteration AI and tech companies to go truthful successful?

Israel's occurrence successful technological invention stems from a unsocial operation of factors that person created nan “Startup Nation” phenomenon.

First is Israel's exceptional quality capital. Military work often provides valuable method training, but it besides develops resilience, leadership, teamwork, and strategical thinking. By college, Israelis are already prepared for challenges pinch a maturity that enhances their expertise to succeed.

Our taste mindset is different important factor. Israel has ever faced analyzable challenges pinch constricted resources, fostering a civilization that values resourcefulness, adaptability, and imaginative problem-solving—what we telephone “chutzpah.” Failure is often viewed arsenic a stepping chromatic alternatively than a setback.

Furthermore, our mini geographical size creates unsocial networking opportunities. With short distances betwixt world institutions, tech hubs, and finance centers, relationships shape easily. In Israel, if you don't personally cognize someone, you decidedly cognize personification who knows them. This close-knit situation enables ideas and expertise to move efficiently passim our invention ecosystem, accelerating collaboration and development.

Finally, owed to our mini home market, Israeli startups deliberation globally from time one, designing solutions for world markets. This world mindset encourages eager reasoning and solutions that reside cosmopolitan challenges.

With galore reservists returning from subject service, really do you spot battlefield invention influencing nan adjacent activity of AI startups successful Israel?

At Afeka alone, complete 44% of our student assemblage was called up for reserve work during nan caller conflict. While challenging, this business presents unsocial opportunities for Israel's early successful technological invention that will power nan adjacent activity of AI startups:

Battlefield acquisition has reinforced nan value of AI systems that are some robust and resilient, while solving real-life problems pinch contiguous impact. When lives dangle connected exertion functioning correctly nether unpredictable conditions, it creates an wholly different modular for reliability and transparency.

I besides expect invention successful human-AI collaboration. In high-pressure scenarios, nan narration betwixt quality operators and AI systems becomes critical—understanding erstwhile to spot automated recommendations versus erstwhile quality judgement should prevail.

However, for this invention imaginable to beryllium realized, it's captious that these reservists complete their degrees. At Afeka, we've implemented broad support for returning reservists to guarantee they tin complete their acquisition connected time.

What are immoderate standout Israeli AI startups that you judge will make a world effect successful nan adjacent fewer years?

While I don't intimately way circumstantial startups, I tin item respective areas wherever Israeli AI companies are positioned to make important world impact, specifically successful ray of nan existent circumstances: Cybersecurity, building connected Israel's well-established expertise successful this domain; Healthcare and aesculapian technology, wherever Israeli startups are applying AI to toggle shape diagnostics and treatment, pinch a caller attraction connected emergency medicine; Defense and homeland information applications, leveraging operational acquisition to create much effective systems.

However, what distinguishes nan astir promising Israeli AI startups isn't conscionable their method capabilities but their attraction connected solving meaningful problems pinch clear societal impact.

It's besides important for world institutes to beryllium agile and support unfastened speech pinch manufacture to beryllium alert of emerging trends and update curricula accordingly. In anticipation of nan maturation successful AI technologies, Afeka established a caller School of Data Science and Intelligent Systems to hole graduates pinch nan specialized skills needed for nan AI-driven economy.

Afeka College recently conducted a study highlighting AI proficiency arsenic nan astir sought-after accomplishment successful Israel’s high-tech sector. Were location immoderate cardinal findings that stood retired to you, and really is Afeka adapting its program to hole students for this AI-driven occupation market?

Our yearly Skills Index study revealed an absorbing paradox successful Israel's high-tech sector. While 55% of high-tech managers identified AI proficiency arsenic their apical individual improvement priority, only 7-9% presently see it basal erstwhile hiring caller employees. This suggests we're successful a transitional play wherever AI take is chiefly driven by individual inaugural alternatively than system organizational strategies.

AI is nary longer confined to specialized roles—it's becoming a basal competency crossed virtually each high-tech positions. Yet organizations are still figuring retired really to formalize these requirements.

At nan aforesaid time, accepted engineering skills are still highly valued. For high-tech positions, nan expertise to activity independently topped nan database (61%), followed by problem-solving capabilities and self-directed learning.

At Afeka, we're taking action successful 2 ways. We're encouraging module to incorporated AI concepts and devices into their courses, while strengthening our attraction connected foundational skills that employers consistently value.

Some courses, for example, person been wholly redesigned. In our Language Processing course, students nary longer constitute basal codification that AI tin easy generate. Instead, they return AI-generated codification to much blase levels, applying it to lick analyzable problems while processing a captious knowing of nan technology's limitations.

Our School of Data Science and AI addresses specialized education, but we admit that each engineers request familiarity pinch AI sloppy of their specialization.

Beyond method AI skills, what different competencies (e.g., captious thinking, leadership, communication) are basal for professionals moving successful an AI-powered economy?

As AI capabilities grow, distinctly quality abilities go much valuable, not less.

Critical reasoning is possibly nan astir basal accomplishment successful an AI-powered economy. When moving pinch systems that tin make convincing but perchance flawed outputs, professionals request to cautiously measure information, place inconsistencies, and validate results against real-world knowledge.

Furthermore, while AI is awesome astatine shape nickname and optimization wrong defined parameters, breakthrough innovations typically require imaginative “out-of-the-box” reasoning that helps envision caller applications and approaches that AI wouldn't make independently.

Communication is besides an important skill. Engineers are nary longer confined to processing algorithms, they must explicate nan potential, capabilities and limitations of nan technologies they create effectively, accurately and persuasively, often to non-technical decision-makers.

With nan accelerating gait of technological change, engineers request to continuously update their understanding. This has besides elevated nan value of self-directed learning.

Collaboration crossed disciplines has besides go progressively important arsenic AI applications span accepted boundaries. Engineers request to activity efficaciously pinch domain experts, business strategists, and designers, integrating divers insights to create broad solutions.

The ethical dimensions of AI improvement adhd different basal competency. Engineers must see nan implications of their activity connected society, connected people, connected nan environment, etc. place imaginable biases, and make responsible creation choices.

How do you spot nan domiciled of engineering acquisition evolving to guarantee Israel remains a leader successful AI innovation?

Competencies specified as—critical thinking, creativity, communication, teamwork, self-directed learning and ethical judgment—must go cardinal to engineering acquisition if Israel is to support its activity successful AI innovation. This requires a basal translator successful really we hole engineers for nan workforce.

At Afeka, we've pioneered a competency-based acquisition exemplary that originates by defining nan “graduate profile”—the complete group of knowledge, master skills, individual skills and values engineers request successful nan modern workplace. This floor plan serves arsenic our compass, guiding each aspects of nan acquisition acquisition toward processing these competencies successful our students.

All elements of nan postgraduate profile, including individual skills person been incorporated arsenic learning outcomes of our curricula done a gradual process of expanding proficiency. We representation really each people contributes to building these competencies, creating a cohesive learning travel that culminates successful graduates who person some method expertise and nan individual skills needed for master success.

This attack represents a displacement from knowledge transportation to competency development. While method knowledge and skills stay essential, nan expertise to use that knowledge successful complex, real-world scenarios is what genuinely differentiates successful engineers. We've moved beyond accepted speech formats to incorporated much project-based learning, manufacture collaborations, and interdisciplinary challenges that create problem-solving abilities alongside method skills.

The Afeka Framework for STEM Education, which we've developed based connected our acquisition transforming engineering education, offers a methodology that tin beryllium applied crossed nan acquisition continuum. By defining postgraduate profiles astatine each acquisition shape and aligning learning experiences accordingly, we tin fortify Israel's quality superior pipeline from Pre-K done master development.

What trends do you expect shaping Israel’s AI manufacture successful 2025 and beyond?

The democratization of AI improvement and usage will continue, enabling smaller teams to create blase solutions without monolithic budgets. This inclination plays to Israel's accepted advantages successful agility and imaginative problem-solving. Our invention ecosystem thrives connected small, agile teams tackling circumstantial challenges—exactly nan situation wherever these much accessible AI improvement approaches tin flourish.

I expect nan battlefield innovations emerging from our existent conflict will power nan adjacent activity of AI startups successful Israel. As I mentioned earlier, nan acquisition of processing exertion nether utmost conditions creates a unsocial position connected requirements for illustration robustness, reliability, and human-AI collaboration.

The talent scenery will germinate importantly arsenic well. While request for AI expertise will intensify, nan meaning of that expertise will broaden beyond specialized researchers to see domain experts who tin efficaciously use AI successful their fields. This displacement aligns pinch nan spread we identified successful our Skills Index betwixt managers' increasing liking successful AI and existent hiring practices—we're witnessing nan opening of a much broad integration of AI crossed master roles.

Finally, I expect AI to play an progressively cardinal domiciled successful nationalist resilience. The caller conflict has highlighted nan captious value of technological capabilities and nan request for optimal equilibrium betwixt humans and AI successful ensuring information and maintaining basal services. We'll apt spot greater finance successful AI applications that heighten infrastructure protection, emergency response, and captious systems.

Success will dangle connected our expertise to accommodate our acquisition systems, support our entrepreneurial culture, and proceed processing nan quality superior that has ever been Israel's top resource.