The inaugural Israel Summer Business Academy kicked off with a walking tour of Tel Aviv on Saturday, June 14th. This was my first time to meet many of the ISBA students and their first time to meet each other. We have 25 students representing six universities in the United States, Turkey and France in this first cohort.
The day consisted of a tour to help students get an understanding of the city and its beginnings from nothing but sand dunes. We traced the steps of the founders of the city and learned about the city’s history on a beautiful summer day. The tour ended in Jaffa, just south of Tel Aviv with a group meal of traditional Israeli salads, falafel and shwarma. That night we had group dinner at a beach side restaurant as the group continued to get acquainted.
Over the next six weeks, we’ll be posting news, views, and insights from ISBA students on the Olin Blog. Check back often to see where this new academic adventure takes us!
Steve Malter
Associate Dean and Director of Olin Undergraduate Programs
The Israel Summer Business Academy (ISBA), is a six week immersive program open to college students from all over the world that provides students the opportunity to learn firsthand about Israeli entrepreneurship, innovation and business. The courses allow students to conduct an in-depth exploration of the Israeli business culture and why Israel has earned the name “Start-Up Nation.”
Participants will leverage their classroom know through experiential learning and will work with Israeli start-ups to provide them with potential solutions to a strategic problem. Students will also have the opportunity to create their own start-up in a team comprised of ISBA participants and Israeli students. ISBA is sponsored by the Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis in collaboration with the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, Israel.
The ISBA program is modeled after courses developed in collaboration with Olin and IDC faculty that have enabled more than 100 Olin students to engage in immersion learning in Israel over the last six years.
The program sounds terrific! What a great experience for the students!