6th World Scientific Public Lecture by Ambassador Simona Halperin Sheds Light on Secrets to Israel's Success

On Wednesday 22 May 2019, World Scientific hosted a distinguished guest, Ambassador Simona Halperin for its 6th Public Lecture. Simona delivered an engaging presentation titled "3000 Years Old, 71 Years Young".

In her presentation, Simona touched on the various elements that led to Israeli's success as a start-up nation, including the role of academia, government policy, venture capital, investment in R&D, military service and "Chutzpah" — the Hebrew word that represents the audacity that Jewish people embody. Peppering her talk with heartwarming anecdotes, Simona raised a critical cultural factor that has led to breakthroughs and entrepreneurship: the license to fail.

Questions from the audience ranged from, "How can the Israeli model best be replicated?", to "Will Singapore produce a Nobel Laureate?", and even "Do women make better ambassadors?" As this year also marks the 50th year of Singapore-Israeli relations, Ambassador Simona was proud to share the award-winning design that commemorates this special relationship.

The Ambassador of Switzerland, Science and Technology Counsellor of the Embassy of China, Director of Japan Science and Technology Agency, and other dignitaries were present.

About the speaker

Simona Halperin

Simona Halperin assumed her position as Israel's Ambassador to Singapore in July 2017.

Her journey in the public service started while she was pursuing her Bachelors in Economics and Business Administration with the Haifa University, followed by a Masters' in Law and Public Administration from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (with honors).

Simona began her diplomatic career in 1993, serving for two years as a Deputy Chief of Mission at the Israel Embassy in Kazakhstan. She then moved on to become the Deputy Chief of Mission at the Israel Embassy in Korea, where she served until 1999. In 2002, she took on the role of Counselor for the Israeli Mission to the European Union, covering relations with the European Parliament. Simona's latest position before arriving in Singapore was head of the Economic and Cultural office in Taipei.

Simona's positions at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem covered a variety of areas — starting as head of the CIS & international partnerships Desk of MASHAV, Israel International Cooperation Agency, to Director of the International Organizations and Human Rights Department.

About World Scientific Publishing

World Scientific Publishing is a leading international independent publisher of books and journals for the scholarly, research and professional communities. World Scientific collaborates with prestigious organisations like the Nobel Foundation and US National Academies Press to bring high quality academic and professional content to researchers and academics worldwide. The company publishes about 600 books annually and 140 journals in various fields. To find out more about World Scientific, please visit www.worldscientific.com.