Two weeks of Life-Changing, Life-Saving Tech

At Tel Aviv University, the first two weeks of December were dedicated to the many Israeli technologies now changing and saving lives. Three different conferences—AI Week, Cyber Week, and DefenseTech Week—were held on the TAU campus, all run by TAU’s Blavatnik Interdisciplinary Cyber Research Center. A combined 8,500 innovators, stakeholders, and experts attended hundreds of talks, viewed dozens of startup stalls, and made countless lucrative professional connections. 

DefenseTech Week and HackTAU  

Israel’s reputation as a juggernaut of security and defense innovations has been earned through years of necessity. At DefenseTech Week, global leaders from the military, academia, and industry shared how Israel’s advancements are shaping today’s global defense landscape.  

With 2,000 attendees and over 80 speakers, as well as two exclusive events for investors, the conference contributed notably to the implementation of better defense systems all over the world.  

A HackTAU participant presents his group's innovation at DefenseTech. (Photo: LENS Productions)

Even more exciting, the next generation of defense innovators were put to the test in the “HackTAU: Battlefield Challenges” hackathon at the TAU Entrepreneurship Center. Dozens of participants in 24 teams came together to find a solution to three real-world challenges that soldiers face in the field. These brilliant young people presented their ideas for industry professionals at DefenseWeek. 

The hackathon was held in memory of Sergeant Eden Alon Levi z”l, Sergeant Ibrahim Kharova z“l, and Israel Hacohen Yudkin z”l. DefenseTech Week is hosted by the Blavatnik Interdisciplinary Cyber Research Center and the Yuval Ne’eman Workshop, in collaboration with the Directorate of Defense, Research & Development (DDR&D), and Israel’s Ministry of Defense. 

AI Week 

Since 2019, the AI Week conference has been a leading international event showcasing cutting-edge AI research and its applications, in Israel and globally. This year’s gathering featured a variety of panels on the many different facets of AI usage, including the highly applicable “Creativity in the Age of AI”, and an entire day focused on the impact of AI on the health sector. 

One session on cancer research illustrated how AI is helping predict stage, response to treatment, growth rate and more. These crucial discoveries may lead to more precise, effective treatments going forward. Said Dr. Ofir Cohen: "Cancer research is really at the pinnacle of both experimental and computational technologies. There are many lessons that the health and AI fields can draw from oncology." 

AI Week is hosted by the Blavatnik Interdisciplinary Cyber Research Center, the TAU Center for AI and Data Science (TAD), and the TAU Yuval Ne’eman Workshop for Science, Technology and Security, in collaboration with the Israel Innovation Authority.  

Cyber Week 

This year, Cyber Week marked its 15th year. The conference is known as one of the top cybersecurity events in the world, bringing in thousands of top players from across the industry. This year’s conference featured about 35 separate events, with high-profile speakers including former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and former Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar.  

Thousands attended CyberWeek 2025. (Photo: Chen Galili)

Events included:  

• A full-day track on combating disinformation, analyzing how we can safeguard public discourse and national stability in the age of AI and fake news 

• A youth conference with hundreds of tomorrow’s cyber and tech leaders who got the opportunity to hear from and meet current industry leaders

• A full-day track on quantum research, which may soon change security and the digital world as we know it 

• Two full-day tracks on online fraud, online identity, and finance in the digital age 

• Multiple exclusive closed-door sessions for policymakers and industry executives  

During these sessions and many more, the world’s top technological minds met and created fertile ground for collaborations that will further accelerate innovation in the future. 

Cyber Week is hosted by TAU’S Blavatnik Interdisciplinary Cyber Research Center, TAU’s Yuval Ne’eman Workshop, and The Israel National Cyber Directorate, in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the City of Tel Aviv, the Foreign Trade Administration and the Israel Export Institute.