Education Session at the SNC International Conference

Israel prides itself on being a “startup nation” with a diverse ecosystem of venture capital funds, global corporations, unicorns, and startups. It is the leading engine of growth for the Israeli economy and a beacon of inspiration for Israeli creativity. Its continuous success however relies on a constant flow of talent coming in from schools, the army, and the universities. Therefore, one would expect there to be a continuous dialogue concerning the needs of the high-tech sector and the content being taught by the education system. In practice, there are very limited opportunities for such discourse, the consequences of which result in the education system teaching a curriculum that is only partly related to future requirements of the labor market.

Last year, to start addressing this gap, the foundation approached the Aaron Institute. The Institute conducted a longitudinal study to explore learning tracks preferred and skills needed for digital jobs. The results of this research prepared the ground for the new policy that is underway with respect to excellence classes and high-tech matriculation tracks. Nevertheless, the data from the study is mostly quantitative, giving only a narrow glimpse into the actual practices of hiring and promotion in high-tech companies.

As a complementary measure, we approached the Startup National Central (SNC) organization. SNC is a not-for-profit center of expertise, created by Paul Singer and Terry Kassel to match Israeli innovation with foreign investors. Its flagship service is a digital dataset of Israeli startups, providing investors with relevant information and opportunities in Israel. The former executive director of SNC is Eugene Kandel, the former chair of the National Council on Economy and Society; the current director is Avi Hasson, the former chair of the Israel Innovation Authority.

SNC is planning its first international conference, to be held in Israel over two days during the final quarter of 2023. The conference will invite 1,000 participants from Israel and abroad in order to take a deep dive into 10 of the most important challenges facing the high-tech sector in Israel and worldwide. SNC proposes that education be one of these issues and that they convene a designated working group around it. The working group will consist of top leaders from Israel’s high-tech industry. They will collect data and research and prepare a position paper on what the high-tech industry needs from education. The research and paper will be presented and discussed at the conference.

* The text above shows the grant as approved by the Foundation’s Board of Directors / Grant 507