Academic ties between Israel and India have been promoted by the visit this week to Tel Aviv by Dr S. Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs of India. 

Tel Aviv University (TAU) hosted a meeting of Israeli university presidents with the Indian minister, who met not only with its own university resident but also those from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, Ben- Gurion University of the Negev in Beersheba, the University of Haifa and Bar-Ilan University to discuss opportunities for expanding and deepening academic ties between the two countries. 

Jaishanka also met with a group of Indian students studying in Israel to hear about their experiences and suggestions for how to expand student mobility. Currently there are about1,000 Indian students studying in Israel, around half of them post-doctoral students.

The minister said that universities play a significant role in strengthening bilateral relations and that while there has been increased cooperation between them in the higher education field in recent years, there is much potential to boost ties in many fields, including technology and innovation. He added that India is “committed to finding new ways to expand our relationship”, and “the challenge before us is how to scale it up and shift it to the next gear.” 

TAU president Prof. Ariel Porat noted the significance of the Indian minister’s visit in the context of the upcoming 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations and growing ties between the two countries. “TAU sees India as a strategic priority and we see great potential in expanding our partnerships with leading academic institutions and industry in India”. 

Ben-Gurion University president Daniel Chamovitz added that “the strong academic collaboration between India and Israel is built on common values which facilitates the personal interactions.” The Israeli academic leaders called for the establishment of more bilateral mechanisms to support joint research and student mobility.

Roohi Chaudry, an Indian doctoral student in the field of cancer biophysics at TAU, reflected on her experiences in Israel “Studying at TAU and Israel has helped me to gain insight into so many diverse cultures and take a giant leap out of my comfort zone to unravel endless opportunities. The well-equipped research labs with world-class infrastructure and the most advanced innovative learning techniques assisted in reinforcing my desire to take up research as my line of work”. She congratulated Jaishanka for making the  visit and called for the “more student exchanges in the future which will prove to be a testimony in strengthening Indo-Israel relations.”