Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat will present plans to boost coordination between the capital's higher education institutions and turn the capital into an "Academic City," during next week's Jerusalem Education Week.

The Hebrew University campus on Givat Ram.
Photo: Hebrew University

Increasing financial incentives and benefits for students are also among the measures being discussed to encourage students to come to the city.

Among those to participate in the initiative are the Hebrew University, the Bezalel Art Academy, Hadassah College and the Jerusalem Music and Dance Academy. They will increase contacts and cooperation with one another, with the aim of bettering their students' overall experience and creating an environment that draws more students to the capital.

The Jerusalem Development Authority and the Jerusalem City Council have also expressed their intention to support the project.

"Jerusalem is the only city in Israel with such a wide array of unique opportunities for young people," city councilman Yakir Segev, who manages the municipality's youth portfolio, told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday. "And these opportunities can and should be utilized to encourage them to come here and study at one of our higher education institutions.

"It is my intention to continue working for the good of the city's students, and to broaden the benefits available to them, so that we will see more and more students coming here for their studies, and then staying here to live and work after those studies are completed," Segev said.

One of the proposed benefits being floated, a source familiar with the project told the Post, is an 80 percent discount on property taxes (arnona) for "students who meet the proper criteria."

While full details of the program are expected to be released next week, other incentives could include lower tuition and increased assistance for student housing.