Guidance

UK Science & Innovation Network Country summary: Israel

Updated 26 March 2024

© Crown copyright 2024

This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gov.uk.

Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.

This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-science-innovation-network-country-snapshot-israel/uk-science-innovation-network-country-summary-israel

1. Science and Innovation Landscape

As the ‘Start-Up Nation’, science and innovation have long been central themes of the Israeli economy. Israel, a country that makes up only 0.1% of the global population, has more high-tech start-ups and a larger venture capital industry per capita than any other country in the world.

Israel is recognised as a world leader in research and development and has the world’s highest Research & Development (R&D) expenditure as a percentage of GDP, with a remarkable expenditure of 5.4 percent in 2023.

The Global Innovation Index 2023 ranked Israel in the 14th place worldwide and 1st in its region. Israel is a world leader in nine innovation indicators such as university–industry R&D collaboration, R&D expenditure as a percentage of GDP, venture capital deals, PCT patents, ICT services exports, and unicorn valuation.  

As for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and commercialisation, it is important to note how integrated the university system is with innovation in Israel. Universities must demonstrate their impact on industry and the marketplace in order to stay relevant. This highly successful technology transfer system is emulated all over the world.  

Israel is home to three of the top 100 universities (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Weizmann Institute of Science, and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology), with a notably high ranking at the world’s top 25 in Mathematics, Computer Science and Engineering Shanghai Ranking.

Israel is considered a leader in Computer Sciences, Engineering Biology, Agri-Tech, Artificial Intelligence and Cyber.

National research policy for science and innovation is driven by the Israel Innovation Authority, by the Ministry of Innovation Science and Technology, and by the Council for Higher Education.

2. UK partnership with Israel on ST&I

In March 2023, the 2030 Roadmap for UK-Israel Bilateral Relations was signed in London, outlining the strategic partnership between the two countries and including a substantial section on Science, Innovation and Technology.

The roadmap specifies a robust £20M framework for supporting academic and R&D ties between the UK and Israel. There is commitment to deepening further the bilateral science and technology partnership through new and ambitious initiatives.

Following the strong Science, Technology & Innovation (ST&I) partnership between the UK and Israel, in September 2023, the UK Department for Science Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and Israel’s Ministry of Science, Innovation and Technology signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for faster and deeper collaboration on ST&I. The deal unlocked £1.7 million worth of joint research projects, focusing on critical technologies.

The MoU sets the following research areas for collaboration, based on scientific excellence and the potential for maximum contribution and impact for the UK and for Israel:

  • Sustainability and Environmental Protection
  • Health and Medicine
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Space

In Israel, SIN works with the local science and innovation community in support of UK policy overseas, leading to mutual benefits to the UK and Israel. Priority areas for SIN Israel are:

  • Health
  • Clean Growth
  • Emerging Technologies (AI, Engineering Biology and Quantum)

These priority areas are determined based on both countries’ national priorities and strengths.

Key initiatives of UK - Israel Science and Innovation collaboration include:

UK - Israel Bilateral Collaborative R&D Call. Jointly led by Innovate UK and the Israel Innovation Authority, with the aim of supporting UK - Israel business led collaborative research and development (CR&D) projects resulting in new products, industrial processes, or services.

UK - Israel Innovation Researcher Mobility Scheme. Managed by Universities UK International, to support UK-based researchers to travel to Israel and work jointly with Israeli partners, at top Israeli institutions. The scheme focuses on innovation and entrepreneurship skills development.

The UK - Israel Science Council. An exclusive group of 23 leading scientists from the UK and Israel whose core mandate is to improve science collaboration between the two countries, which are scientific superpowers.

UK - Israel AI in Drug Discovery Taskforce. A group of senior representatives from leading pharmaceutical companies, start-ups, academic institutions, hospitals, Health Maintenance Organisations, and governmental agencies - from the UK and from Israel. The taskforce was established by SIN Israel, recognising the UK and Israel’s excellence on AI in Drug Discovery, and in order to promote the collaboration around this topic.

Horizon Europe. Israel is a strong player in Horizon, and in the previous programme (Horizon 2020), Israel was among the top-five partners of the UK. In Horizon Europe, Health is the topic where the UK - Israel partnership is showing the highest success rate. SIN Israel, together with its partners, is leading high impact activities to strengthen the collaboration in this framework.

SIN Israel works closely with the UK - Israel Tech Hub, which is based in the British Embassy in Israel, and with the British Council Israel which runs the BIRAX - Britain Israel Research and Academic Exchange and the Wohl Clean Growth Alliance.

3. SIN contacts

Back to top