A senior government adviser has welcomed the contribution Israeli scientists can make to major British institutions.

Speaking ahead of the arrival on Wednesday of a delegation of Israeli scientists in London, Emma Hennessey, the Foreign Office’s deputy chief scientific adviser, said Israel was “an important science partner for the UK”.

Dr Hennessey, who is due to meet the delegates, added: “There is a lot of expertise that the country has that we are interested in sharing and collaborating on.

“Israel is particularly strong on life sciences, medical and agritech – we have a lot to share.

“I hope the Israeli scientists also get to see the broad range of expertise the UK has – I hope they get a feel of the breadth of expertise and resources that we have in the UK to partner with.”

During their two-day visit, the 11 Israeli scientists - who hail from top institutions including the Technion, IDC and the Weizmann Institute of Science - are scheduled to meet representatives from the Royal Society, Natural History Museum, British Science Association, as well as Oxford University, Imperial College, City University and the Science Media Centre.
Seven Czech scientists will also be part of the delegation.

Ronit Prower, the British Embassy in Israel’s science and innovation officer, said: “There will be strategic discussions on how to engage more young people and the public, in science, technology, engineering and maths.”

She confirmed that the UK and Israel plan to apply jointly for science grants from Horizon 2020, the European Commission’s multi-billion pound research programme.

An OECD global school standards report released last year showed that when it came to maths and science, the UK ranked in 20th place while Israel came in 39th. Singapore topped the list, while Ghana ranked in bottom, in 76th place.

Responding to this, a British embassy spokesman said Israel could learn from the UK. He said: “The UK has made great gains in making science appealing to young people. Science stories get major headlines in the media, science museums thrive and missions like the first British astronaut in the ISS get the public enthusiastic about science.”