Dr. Deganit Paikowsky is an expert on International Relations with a unique focus and first-hand experience in the interface between world politics and technology, especially Space. For 20 years, Dr. Paikowsky's passion and research expertise enabled her to develop a comprehensive understanding of current and future global space market and cyberspace trends and an intimate acquaintance with the space community in government industry  and academia. Dr. Paikowsky is known for developing the field of space policy research in Israel. She also made an important contribution to developing Israel's civil space policy. Dr. Paikowsky exemplifies a rare combination of a theoretical social science scholar with an enormous contribution to public policy.

 In October 2019, Dr. Paikowsky was elected as Vice President of   the International Astronautical Federation for a three years term. She   was the first Israeli to serve in this position.

 In July 2020, she joined the International Relations Department at the   Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Additionally, she is a non-resident   scholar at the Space Policy Institute at the Elliott School for Foreign   Affairs, George Washington University. Previously Dr. Paikowsky also lectured at the Graduate Program for Security and Diplomacy Studies at Tel Aviv University.

Dr. Paikowsky holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from Tel Aviv University. As a Ph.D. candidate, she won the Guggenheim Pre-Doctoral Fellowship of the National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institute. 2013-2016 she was a post-doctoral fellow. One year at the Political Science Department of Haifa University and two more years at the Leonard Davis Institute of International Relations at the Hebrew University.

She publishes extensively in leading professional peer-reviewed journals and on popular platforms. As of now, the highlight of her scholarly work is her book, "The Power of the Space Club," published by Cambridge University Press in 2017. The book explores the role of nation-state clubs in world politics using the case study of the space club.

Dr. Paikowsky has shown a deep interest in applying her novel academic knowledge to benefit public policy practices throughout her career. While at Tel Aviv University, she established a Global Space Activity group, which serves as a pool of experts assisting government decision-making processes.

Over the last decade, she coordinated three national committees overlooking Israel's civil space policy and was a consultant to the Israel National Council for Research & Development.

2017 to 2019, she served in a senior position at the Strategy and Capacity Building Division of the Israel National Cyber Directorate. In these positions, she led strategic planning processes relating to space policy, cyber policy, and R&D at the national and international levels.

Dr. Paikowsky represented Israel in international forums at the United Nations and the European Union. She also played a significant role in the process that led to Israel's membership in the United Nation's Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS).

Dr. Paikowsky advocates for women's empowerment in science, especially encouraging young girls to enter STEM fields. She is a 2018 Fellow of the International Women's Forum Leadership Foundation and is the mother of three boys.