Hebrew University and Meta AI Launch Joint AI PhD Program to Drive Cutting-Edge Research

26 October, 2022
Yoram Aschheim

This first of its kind partnership between Meta and an Israeli university marks a significant step to bring industry-leading Artificial Intelligence research from Hebrew University’s Rachel and Selim Benin School of Computer Science and Engineering to the AI marketplace. 

 

(Jerusalem, October 26, 2022)--Today, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HU)’s School of Engineering and Computer Science and Yissum, HU’s technology transfer company announced a new research partnership with Meta AI.

This partnership stems from Hebrew University's efforts to strengthen the ties between academia and the tech industry. Meta AI’s research advances the state-of-the-art in artificial intelligence through fundamental and applied research in open collaboration with the community. PhD students who are accepted into the program will have the opportunity to merge theory with real work experience, to gain a better understanding of emerging technologies and to develop new ones. 

The results of the research conducted as part of this strategic partnership will be published for the benefit of the scientific community and industry. Meta will assign the HU students mentors and scholarships to deepen their understanding in AI and machine learning. Further, these students will have access to Meta’s computational infrastructure and facilities.

Professor Sara Cohen, Dean of the Rachel and Selim Benin School of Computer Science and Engineering at the Hebrew University: “This partnership offers our students a unique opportunity to experience the world of research and development from two perspectives: a research perspective that enables experimentation, innovation, and breakthroughs, and an implementation perspective, which will give them an understanding of the real-world impact of their research. This one-of-a-kind collaboration will empower Hebrew U.’s PhD students to both study at one of Israel’s leading universities and to test their ideas in Meta’s industry-leading AI laboratory.”

Dr. Itzik Goldwaser, CEO of Yissum: “Meta’s choice to collaborate with the Hebrew University is proof of our institution’s scientific excellence and the commercial success that Yissum has achieved for its leading professors. The university’s curious and innovative researchers play a critical role in the marketplace, and we are proud to facilitate this collaboration with Meta to impact the scientific community.”

Professor Joelle Pineau, Managing Director of FAIR: “Exploratory research, open science, and cross-collaboration are foundational to our AI efforts. Many of our projects are done with researchers both in industry and academia as we believe this is the fastest way to make progress in research. Bringing our PhD program to Israel, in partnership with the Hebrew University, will further our collective impact as we together accelerate the world's progress toward more capable AI."

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