From the President

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem was the first major Zionist institution established in Israel, as early as 1925. Its founders include some of the greatest scientists and intellectuals of the twentieth century: Albert Einstein, Chaim Weizmann, Haim Nahman Bialik, Martin Buber, and Sigmund Freud. Since its inception, the university's researchers have been at the forefront of global research and have won numerous prestigious awards, including eight Nobel Prizes and hundreds of Israel Prizes. Additionally, over the years, many heads of state and industry leaders have studied at the university.

Beyond its invaluable academic achievements, Hebrew University's direct economic contribution to the Israeli economy in general, and to the Jerusalem economy in particular, is estimated at billions of shekels a year. Furthermore, it has played a key role in shaping the city's cultural identity over the years. Lastly, the university boasts tremendous achievements in the field of innovation, such as developing life-saving medicines and establishing industry-leading businesses.

In recognition of its key scientific, national, and societal roles, the university has defined four fundamental goals for its ongoing activities and research programs:

1. Academic excellence in research and teaching
2. Positioning the university as a leading international institution
3. Strengthening academic-industrial ties
4. Community involvement in Jerusalem and Israel

In order to establish the university’s position at the forefront of the global scientific community, as well as to provide its graduates with the tools they need to cope with ever-changing employment requirements, we place special emphasis on multidisciplinary teaching and research. To this end, we offer a range of innovative and industry-leading programs in nearly every academic field, across our six campuses. We see great importance in developing graduate students as part of the next generation of academia, the economy, and state leadership and offer fully funded excellence scholarship programs. In addition, in order to provide university researchers with optimal scientific environments, we invest in research infrastructure that attracts young promising researchers to join our academic faculty in all fields.

Hebrew University has expansive ties with leading universities across the globe, which are manifested in international programs for joint degrees and in student exchange programs with the best universities, research collaborations, and more. Further, the university has opened its doors to students and faculty members from around the world – both as part of its dedicated programs and as part of the university's regular programs, some of which are conducted in English.

We see great importance in strengthening ties between the university and industry, from the tools imparted in our academic programs, through research collaborations with commercial companies for finding value-generating scientific solutions, to commercializing patents developed in university laboratories. To this end, the university founded a unique center for innovation and entrepreneurship that enables students to actively participate in exciting projects and helps them promote innovative ideas. Also, Yissum – the university’s technology transfer company – assists university researchers with patent registration and commercialization and introduces them to various commercial companies for potential research collaborations. Lastly, we are currently establishing an innovation park on the outskirts of the Edmond J. Safra (Givat Ram) campus which will act as a bridge between industry-leading companies and the university’s students and researchers.

As an institution that accredits more than 25,000 students a year, and as the largest employer in Jerusalem, Hebrew University bears enormous responsibility to Israeli society and especially to that of Jerusalem. In recent years, the university has been leading a process of bridging the populations that make up Israeli society. We believe in diversity, pluralism, and equality in our campuses, in which people from different backgrounds learn to get to know each other and become acquainted with the value of living together. In addition, the university runs a variety of programs for outstanding youth and heads the IDF's elite academic programs.

One hundred years after the cornerstone of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem was laid, I feel privileged to be able to lead it towards the next hundred years. A privilege that entails the responsibility of steering the university onto a path of scientific, social, cultural, and economic growth, while recognizing its central and unique role in Israel.