The Council for Higher Education and the Planning and Budgeting Committee defined the promotion of international activities in the context of higher education in general and of teaching in particular as a main objective of the annual program for 2016-2022. The promotion of international activity is highly important to increasing quality levels and the competitiveness of Israeli academia, particularly on the part of outstanding advanced degree students and research staff, improving Israel’s international reputation, and creating diversity among students and staff members, who are exposed to different cultures and perspectives, who acquire language skills, and more. Moreover, the promotion of internationality also contributes a great deal to the State of Israel at the diplomatic, social and economic levels. Many studies have shown that innovativeness grows in international and multicultural environments, and internationality is therefore vital for both academia and a strong Israeli economy.

The CHE/PBC has been operating a program for promoting internationality in the higher education system for the past 5 years. In the framework of that program, two models have been operational for the last 3 years that are used to provide budgets to institutions, so as to facilitate internationality on the basis of institutional strategies: the first model is an output-based model for institutions that included infrastructures for the facilitation of internationality and a growth-based model for institutions that were just starting their way in this context upon the initiation of the multiannual program. The program emphasizes the incorporation of outstanding students (advanced degrees and post-docs) as a main tool for achieving the aforementioned objectives, as well as the incorporation of international students for short periods of time. In order to monitor the program’s achievements, an orderly process of collecting data about international students in Israel began in 2018-2019 through the assistance of the Central Bureau of Statistics. In 2019-2020, 11,500 international students studied in Israel (bachelor’s degrees – 1966, master’s degrees – 2066; PhDs – 992; and 1614 attended the postdoctoral program (the others attended programs that are not in the framework of an academic degree, or other short-term programs). It should be noted that – despite the COVID crisis – academic institutions and post-doc scholarship programs for outstanding international students have reported an increase in the number of candidates and advance degree enrollees in Israel.