“No longer a niche program”
The Lowy International School has become a major force at Tel Aviv University
“International studies are no longer a niche at Tel Aviv University, but something that aims to be a force in the university as a whole,” says Prof. Milette Shamir, Vice President in charge of international academic collaboration.
Tel Aviv University’s Lowy International School in Memory of Shirley Lowy (formerly Tel Aviv University International), already one of Israel’s top university programs, is in the midst of a major expansion since it was renamed by virtue of a major gift from Sir Frank Lowy in December 2022.
“The new name and the very generous donation that accompanied the name allows us to fulfill the expanded agenda of internationalization at Tel Aviv University,” says Prof. Shamir. “We are no longer just an international school bringing students here, but an international hub for creating research networks between professors and institutions and for bringing academic talent to Tel Aviv for a host of different programs, workshops, exchanges, and internships. We also create opportunities for Israeli students and staff to go abroad.”
In the six months since the school’s renaming, the Lowy International School has developed numerous programs, including the creation of the Lowy Distinguished Guest Professor program, which, beginning next year, will bring top professors from around the world to the university; new summer schools for visiting researchers; the Lowy Scholarship Fund supporting outstanding international students at all stages of their academic studies, including research students; a new Master’s program in climate change, and the creation of additional joint international programs with leading institutions that will join existing ones with Northwestern University, Berkeley, Columbia,
Johns Hopkins and others. “This is a model that we are embracing,” says Prof. Shamir, “not just because we think that academically it is good for students to experience learning in two different environments, but also because it creates all kinds of connections between disciplines and scholars.”
To date, the broad network of partners developed by TAU comprises over 280 institutions in 46 countries, including universities in the Gulf states and Morocco, Ivy League universities in the USA, and leading academic institutions in Europe and Asia.
When asked what distinguishes Tel Aviv University’s international program from other Israeli institutions, Prof. Shamir says no other school centralizes all of the different aspects of international activities like the Lowy School. “If we bring a visiting professor here, for example, we are benefitting the international programs, the research connections, and the Israeli students. Everything that we do has ramifications in other areas of internationalization.”
As part of the further development of the school, ground will soon be broken for a new building in the middle of the campus, that will serve as a home for the school and the entire international community at Tel Aviv University.
The Lowy School offers over 20 degrees in English and 15 shortterm and online programs to students from over 100 countries, with over 2,000 students coming from abroad to campus each year. To date, over 25,000 international student alumni worldwide have become “ambassadors” of the University and Israel in their home countries.
The school has set a goal of doubling the number of international students over the next five to ten years, says Prof. Shamir, and while she notes that the country has experienced moments of instability recently surrounding the judicial reform and Gaza unrest, it is important to remember that studies at Tel Aviv University are stable and secure.
“We think this is a great time to come to Israel,” she says. “If you want to understand a vibrant democracy at work and experience a place where these questions are being deeply debated, it is a very good time to be here. We are recruiting students who want to be here exactly at this time because they are interested in what is going on, and they want to be part of this moment that is so crucial for Israel.”