DAAD Israel Alumni Gathering 2026
On 15 May, our annual Alumni Event took place for the second time in Tel Aviv. It was a real pleasure to see both familiar and new faces, and above all, to be able to come together as planned, despite all current circumstances in Israel.
This year, we chose an ambitious theme: “Academic Excellence in an Era of AI, Global Polarization, and Policy Transformation.” These three phenomena are creating significant challenges for higher education and society, and we felt it was important to reflect on them together in a shared space of exchange.
We opened the event with welcome remarks from Mr. Assaf Bloom and Ms. Natalia Suponitskaya, DAAD Israel, followed by greetings from Ms. Christine Ringer, Cultural Attaché at the German Embassy Tel Aviv.
The keynote lecture, “Scholars in the Age of AI: What We Know, What We Do, and What We Owe,” was delivered by Dr. Sharon Haleva-Amir, a multidisciplinary communication scholar specializing in digital democracy, political communication, and AI.
In the second part of the event, our Alumni took center stage through active engagement. We began with four short presentations by Prof. Arik Sadan, Dr. Elizabetha Levin, Dr. vet-med Giddy Zipori, and Prof. Larissa Remennick, offering inspiring insights into their research across the humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences.
Participants then split into two groups for interactive discussions. Dr. Eyal Rubinson led an engaging simulation on polarization dynamics within alliances, while Dr. Amiram Porath guided a discussion on how AI is transforming information gathering.
The day was beautifully accompanied also by music performed by Dr. Désirée Baron (violin), and concluded with lunch and informal networking.
It was a warm and inspiring day, and we are deeply grateful to everyone who contributed. We are already looking forward to continuing this tradition next year.
📸 © Dafna Talmon Photography
#DAAD #daadisrael #DAADAlumni
