Scientific exchange in the Middle East: A new era begins!

Scientific exchange in the Middle East: A new era begins!

In a significant initiative to promote scientific exchange in the Middle East, the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), the University of Haifa, Tel Aviv University and Hasoub signed a cooperation agreement on March 3, 2025. This event took place at the German Embassy in Tel Aviv and was attended by high-ranking representatives, including the German Ambassador Steffen Seibert and the President of the German Rectors' Conference (HRK), Professor Walter Rosenthal.

The cooperation is part of a delegation trip to Israel that serves to intensify intercultural dialogue and collaboration in areas such as research, teaching and entrepreneurship. What is particularly noteworthy is that Hasoub, as the first Arab innovation center in Israel, was founded to promote the participation of the Arab population in the high-tech sector.

Scientific exchange as a core goal

This agreement puts the exchange of students, researchers and start-ups at the center of the collaboration. The Helmholtz Israel Office also plans to further expand cooperation with German industrial partners. The Helmholtz Association, as the largest scientific organization in Germany with 46,000 employees and an annual budget of over 6 billion euros, as well as the KIT, which includes around 10,000 employees and 22,800 students, focus on central topics such as energy, mobility and information.

This initiative stands in stark contrast to an emerging trend in the European academic community, which is increasingly avoiding contact with Israel. Several institutions report that ongoing projects will not be continued and cooperation agreements will be reconsidered. For example, in May 2025, the Spanish Rectors' Conference questioned cooperation agreements with Israel and the University of Granada withdrew several “Horizon Europe” projects.

A look at the current situation

In Italy, Norway, Ireland and Slovenia, universities are planning to limit their ties to Israel, although, as in the case of the University of Turin, some collaborations with Israeli scientists have been restricted. Belgium is also taking a similar approach: the University of Ghent has stopped all collaborations with Israeli institutions, and the University of Antwerp has put existing agreements on ice.

Despite these challenges, the DAAD, for example, continues to work to maintain academic exchange with Israel and the Palestinian territories. The DAAD, which has increasingly relied on digital formats since 2020, currently supports around 111,000 students, graduates and researchers. The aim of these efforts is not only to promote sustainable international cooperation, but also to strengthen the resilience of higher education systems.

In view of the rising tensions and cultural calls for boycotts - over 400 philosophy professors from Europe and North and South America have been calling for boycotts of Israeli institutions since November 2022 - the upcoming exchange between the institutions involved could be of great importance. This networking could play an important role in intercultural dialogue and promote scientific discourse in a tense situation.

Overall, the developments show how essential academic exchange is for research and teaching. International cooperation remains essential even in the context of global challenges such as climate change and health.