Minister Mailis Reps is in Jerusalem from today to Tuesday to participate at research- and innovation-themed conference “Thinking Outside the Box” and meets her colleague, Minister of Science and Technology of Israel Ofir Akunis.
“Conference calls to think outside the box – this is something, that we have to do every day in shaping Estonia’s education and research system to inspire our children to find new solutions,” said minister Mailis Reps. “I hope to share Estonia’s experience on innovation in education and get new ideas that we could use to make Estonia’s youth future even better,” added Reps.
The conference focuses on new solutions and innovation. The speakers are representatives of start-ups as well known social media brands. The role of higher education and education system as well their influence on creative thinking will be discussed.
Today, Mailis Reps visits Herbew University of Jerusalem together with representatives of Estonian Embassy in Tel Aviv. Minister Reps and the President of the University, Asher Cohen, will explore cooperation possibilities and discuss sharing experiences between the Herbew University of Jerusalem and Estonian universities.
On Tuesday, minister Reps will meet the Science and Technology Minister of Israel, Ofir Akunis with whom cooperation opportunities will be discussed. Additionally, Reps will meet Jarosław Gowin, the Minister of Science and Higher Education of Poland; Jose Lino Barañao, the Minister of Science, Technology and innovation of Argentina; Harsh Vardhan, the Minister of Science and Technology of India. The focuses of the meetings are at the Global Education Industry Summit 2018 (GEIS) that takes place in Tallinn, Estonia this autumn.
Minister Reps will also visit a school in Western Jerusalem where she will have in-depth look on Israel’s education system, teaching and studying arrangements as well she will discuss with the school leaders what both sides could learn from each other.
This is the first visit of minister of education and research of Estonia to Israel, while the bi-lateral agreements in education and research have been in effect from 1993.