Fourth Annual Israel Education Summit in Tel Aviv Makes Global Impact
TEL AVIV, Israel, June 10, 2019 — The fourth annual Israel Education Summit brought 1,000 industry leaders from all around the globe to the Rabin Center in Tel Aviv. Fifty international speakers represented 12 countries at the summit, and 120 international delegates traveled from 20 countries across Africa, Asia, Europe and North America to participate and engage with Israeli industry leaders.
“We are tremendously grateful for the support of our partners and the industry leaders around the world who have recognized the Israel Education Summit is a can’t-miss event on their annual calendars,” said Dr. Jacob (Yaki) Dayan, founder of EdTech Israel and creator of the summit. “I have no doubt the momentum from this year’s summit will result in transformative opportunities for Israeli innovators, with benefits felt around the world.”
The summit’s themes included the future of work, bridging the skills gap, disruptive technologies and business models, upskilling, women in leadership, mindfulness in school and workforce, sustainability models for nonprofits, the state of edtech, and investment sentiment and trends.
2019 also saw a wave of new partnerships for EdTech Israel, including with GSVlabs, the leading innovation services platform headquartered in Silicon Valley. GSVlabs creates powerful network effects by catalyzing the global innovation economy.
“EdTech Israel is the recognized gateway to the Israeli ecosystem, and so we were delighted to partner with them to support the startup competition at the 2019 Israel Education Summit, and we look forward to further collaboration between GSVlabs and EdTech Israel in the future,” said Nikhil Sinha, CEO of GSVlabs.
A partnership was also announced with India’s Sri Aurobindo Society, with the vision of meeting India’s education needs by connecting them with Israel’s talent, content, methodologies and technologies.
“The Sri Aurobindo Soiety is excited to partner with EdTech Israel to enable, accelerate, and implement educational solutions and sustainable social businesses that will bring innovation and impact to India’s education needs,” said Sambhrant Sharma, Member-Executive, Sri Aurobindo Society.
“I am proud to be part of Edtech Israel from its initiation 5 years ago, and believed that a hub for Israeli edtech/talent tech will attract more stakeholders to invent and invest in this field, which makes education accessible to everyone anywhere,” said Vered Shalev Hurviz, an impact investor and Founding Board Member of EdTech Israel. “The Summit is the place where opportunities become businesses. The increased number of participants from all over the world confirms that Israeli innovation in education has a bright future and will continue to make a significant impact internationally.”
Twelve companies pitched in the international Startup Competition, with proprep, a video-based tutorial company, winning as the most innovative and disruptive startup. The competition was sponsored by Amazon Web Services and GSVlabs, which gave thousands of dollars worth of prizes to the winner.
The 2019 summit is endorsed by Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Economy and Industry, and Ministry for Social Equality, Digital Israel. The summit is supported by Platinum Sponsors BrainPOP and the Avi Chai Foundation, and Gold Sponsors the Paul E. Singer Foundation, Amazon Web Services, Chegg and IDB Bank.