Israel Study Tour Spark Students’ Entrepreneurial Spirits

Twenty CUHK undergraduate business students went on a 9-day study tour to Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, Israel for exploring the “Start-Up Nation”.

A group of 20 CUHK undergraduate business students went on a 9-day study tour to Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, Israel, from 24 May to 1 June 2017. Led by Dr. John Lai, Assistant Dean (Undergraduate Studies) and Director of Global Business Programmes, the Hebrew University Innovation & Entrepreneurship Programme study tour was the second study tour organised by the Undergraduate Office with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Hebrew University).

Known as the “Start-up Nation”, Israel has been a hotbed for innovation and entrepreneurship over the past half-century, with thousands of startup companies, venture capitalists and offices of multinational corporations. The tour helped students to further develop their entrepreneurial mindset, and learn how organisations capture new opportunities, innovate, and create their own value proposition in the global market.

Through attending lectures and workshops hosted by the Hebrew University, students studied various entrepreneurial formation processes and the financing mechanisms of local start-ups, the new innovative tools to develop a company’s strategy and how creativity is encouraged as part of the organisation’s culture. They also developed a deeper understanding of the Israeli entrepreneurial culture and the nation’s success in technological innovation. In addition, students visited the local offices of international companies – OurCrowd, a company specialised in startup investment via crowdfunding, and AtoBe, a startup accelerator company – where they met and interacted with local entrepreneurs, and gained valuable knowledge and insights into the economic value of innovative firms in the global market.

Students also toured around Israel and learned about the country’s fascinating history and culture in Jerusalem, Dead Sea, and Tel Aviv, as well as places that played a significant role in the development of the nation’s economy.

“Israel has such distinctive features that we cannot forget easily. Wars taught the country how to make inner peace through religions and be grateful; Dead Sea taught it how to stay strong and innovate to live; history taught it how to transform into a modern place,” shared Catherine Liu (Professional Accountancy, Year 4). “Clear contrasts between modernity and tradition, accommodating citizens, and very interesting tour pals marked a great graduation trip for me. Hooray!”

Find out more photos of this study tour here.

This article was first published in CU iBUS (July 2017 issue) by the Undergraduate Office, CUHK Business School.