The 2nd edition of the “Virtual Roadshow of Italian Universities in Israel” took place on October 26, 2021. The event, organized by the Italian Embassy in Tel Aviv in collaboration with the Israeli “Council for Higher Education” (“CHE”), was aimed at strengthening the already advanced collaboration between academic institutions of the two countries.
At the opening, the Italian Ambassador to Israel Sergio Barbanti emphasized how “Italy and Israel are characterized by complementary educational and economic systems and can learn from each other’s respective excellences”, in a win-win perspective. He also stressed the importance of initiatives aimed at facilitating the integration between the two systems, both in terms of teaching and research, within the framework of the Israel- Italy Scientific and Technological Cooperation Agreement.
Professor Itamar Procaccia, from the Weizmann Institute, winner of the Rita Levi Montalcini Prize 2016, and Dr. Lee Bar-On, a young researcher from Tel Aviv University who was awarded with a scholarship from the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2019 to study in Italy, testified the importance of the academic cooperation between Italy and Israel through their personal stories. Professor Vincenzo Zara, Counsellor of the Italian Minister of University and former Rector of the University of Salento, and Naomi Shalom, Head of the International Policy and Foreign Relations Unit at CHE, illustrated the essential features higher education systems of the two Countries.
During the event, 13 Italian Universities (among them: University of Milano, Turin Polytechnic, Brescia University, as well as a large number of universities from central and southern Italy such as the Marche Polytechnic, Bari Polytechnic, LUISS and the Universities of Perugia, Catania and Salento) met with 24 Israeli Higher Education Institutions. With over 100 scheduled “speed-date” type meetings, the Universities of the two countries have started negotiations aimed at the signature of students and teaching staff mobility agreements, joint programs and at the establishment of double degree courses. They discussed as well joint research projects in areas of common interest.
