The Higher Education System Celebrates the 60th Anniversary of the Council for Higher Education and 70 Years of Academic Excellence

Press Release – Collection of Data for Start of Year

The Major Accomplishments of the Israeli Higher Education System:

• OECD Ranking – Israel ranks second in the world in tertiary attainment among 25-64-year-olds

From a multiyear perspective – The number of students enrolled in an institution of higher education in Israel has become increasingly stable

From a multiyear perspective – The number of students enrolled in a graduate program has increased

• The national plan to boost hi-tech programs:

1. Engineering is now the largest program of study in Israel for the first time.
2. One of every four students enrolled in a program of higher education in Israel studies engineering or computer science.

• Making higher education more accessible to the socioeconomic periphery – More than 45,000 bachelor’s degree students (27%) come from towns located in low socioeconomic clusters (Clusters 1-4), which is significantly higher than the overall percentage of the population living in these towns (19.6%)
• The revolution in making higher education accessible to the Arab sector – The designated goal was achieved three years earlier than originally planned
• The vision of the new campus – A transition to active and digital learning
• More powerful research – Budgets, academic publications, and procuring research grants

1. Significant increase in research grant budget – investment of approximately NIS 1.5 billion a year
2. Multiyear plan for the establishment and upgrade of research infrastructure
3. Boosting of flagship research programs – placing Israel at the frontier of international expertise
4. Procuring research grants and putting out academic publications – significant increases from a multiyear view

Budgeting and Planning Committee Chairwoman Professor Yaffa Zilbershats: “The Israeli higher education system has been making tremendous strides forward. The OECD ranked Israel second in the world in academic education among 25-64-year-olds along with impressive achievements in the spheres of hi-tech and in making academia more accessible to the Arab sector. There has been a significant increase in investments in research and in the number of academic publications. In addition, we will launch the vision of ‘the new campus’ this year, which will create a new and improved academic experience through digital and active learning while also facilitating collaboration between academia and industry.”

Council for Higher Education Deputy Chairman Professor Ido Perlman: “The Israeli higher education system is characterized by academic excellence in research and instruction along with the accessibility of academia to broad swaths of society while providing support and assistance to students. Academia is the engine of Israeli society. As such, it will continue to lead the State of Israel in the years to come to impressive achievements in the sciences and will work to integrate all strata of society into the fields of industry and research, with an emphasis on gender, the socioeconomic periphery, and special populations.”