Message from Merav Gilad, Director: International Student Services and Affairs Starting a new academic year is an exciting time for everyone, whether students, lecturers, or staff members – and even parents. As students, this is the chance to grab hold of your dreams and mold them into a reality that will enable you to reach your goals. It is also one of the most valuable and entertaining experiences of your lifetime. Yes, your studies are important and the reason you attend university, but it is also the opportunity to have fun, try new things, and make friends for life. Lecturers...

President Reuven Rivlin had a vision – to unite all Israelis in all sectors of the country. In 2015, the year following his inauguration, he created Israeli Hope, a venture that seeks to strengthen the “togetherness” of Israeli society through giving respect to, and a place for, every group that comprises it, in order to ensure the strength and prosperity of the State of Israel. Israeli Hope: Creating Partnerships Israeli Hope aims to establish partnerships between the four main sectors that comprise Israeli society: secular, religious, ultra-Orthodox, and Arab. The project operates in key social and economic fields – in education, academia,...

The Bar-Ilan University International School’s aim is to connect with high school and university faculty members, administrators, and students all over the world. In order to do this efficiently, we have brought in various experts to help us spread the word about Bar-Ilan and recruit potential students. We have nine international representatives and each one is responsible for a different area. These include Shira Gafni (North America), Anabella Jaroslavsky (Latin America), Zista Company – Divya Shevale and Mitali Rawool (India), Ariel Geva and Cynthia Jeng (China and Asia, excluding India), David Senkia (Turkey), Kata Mészáros (Russia and Ukraine), and Aidana...

Message from Ofer Dahan, Executive Director, International School The start of a new year is always exciting and fun. New beginnings, new plans, new experiences… all come together as a clean slate, a fresh opportunity to take charge and make a change. The past eight months have been like a rollercoaster ride for all of us, no matter where in the world we live, work or study. No one has escaped the effects of the global pandemic that is COVID-19. We really are all in the same boat. And in a corner of this boat, Bar-Ilan University’s International School is...

Being Jewish in Israel is not difficult. As the Jewish state, there are many options for students of all streams of Judaism throughout the country. Many students seek a university that meets their academic ambitions while simultaneously accommodating their Jewish lifestyle. Bar-Ilan University is one of them. The university traditionally and uniquely combines cutting-edge scientific research with education steeped in Jewish values and social responsibility. In partnership with the Orthodox Union’s Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus (OU-JLIC) and World Mizrachi, Bar-Ilan also enables religious Jewish students to have an off-campus, home-away-from-home experience. Mizrachi-JLIC helps young men and women thrive and observe key aspects...

Applications for the Azrieli Foundation’s International Postdoctoral Fellowships for Research at Bar-Ilan University in 2021 are now open! The scholarships are available for Postdoctoral researchers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), Humanities and Social Sciences. Ideal candidates will have an excellent academic track record and the potential to perform groundbreaking research, alongside an intellectual curiosity that transcends their field of study. They will possess a character that facilitates scientific and societal leadership, promoting change. The Fellowship is open to candidates who have received, or will receive, their PhD degrees at a recognized university in the EU or EFTA states...

On July 28, 2020, 100 doctoral and postdoctoral students from India landed in Israel on a special Israir flight initiated by Bar-Ilan University and its International School in cooperation with the airline. At a recent meeting of vice presidents from Israel’s universities, participants discussed the difficulty they had encountered in bringing these international students to Israel due to a shortage of flights as a result of COVID-19. Bar-Ilan University’s International School Director, Ofer Dahan, a former Jewish Agency official who organized numerous special flights to Israel, stepped in to help. Dahan contacted Israeli air carrier Israir and asked if they...

Interior Minister Aryeh Deri announced in a statement on Wednesday, July 22, 2020, that permission would be granted to international students, who plan to begin (or continue) their studies in Israel this coming October, to enter Israel, despite the general ban on entry of foreigners. Bar-Ilan University has been voted Israel’s most beautiful campus Classes will take on a different format due to COVID-19. Some will take place in person and others will be on Zoom. However, while some classes will be via Zoom, students will still need to be in Israel to participate in the “face-to-face” teaching sessions. But please...

Choosing What Your Future Will Hold Now is a crucial time for anyone making a major life choice about where to study next year. Deciding what university you’d like to attend and in what country, as well as trying to discover where you’ll have the most enriching experience, are decisions that will need to be made within the next few months.   Bar-Ilan University is a place where diversity is welcomed and debate and discussion are encouraged. We offer you a safe space to air your views, embrace and drive change, and find your purpose – while having the time...

Making major life choices is never easy and choosing a university can be daunting. We know there are many universities in Israel and globally from which to choose, so we’d like to share with you why we think you should choose Bar-Ilan University (BIU). Academic excellence is a top reason for anyone to choose a specific university and BIU is consistently ranked in the top 2% of all universities throughout the world, according to the Shanghai Ranking. Prize-winning professors and lecturers, internationally-recognized for their research and achievements, educate students in interesting, top-quality, multidisciplinary degrees and degree courses – all in English. The...