D’Amore-McKim Study Abroad Explores Israel As Innovation Hub
The D’Amore-McKim School of Business at Northeastern University unveiled a new study abroad pilot program that hosted five MBA students on a two-week guided tour of Israel’s past, present, and future this summer. The new International New Venture program, a joint venture between D’Amore-McKim and Ben Gurion University of the Negev, combines “historic and cultural experiences with big business and young start-up visits.”
A recently published article highlighted the diverse trip that Anshi Barmecha (DMSB ’20), Catherine Hogan (DMSB ’21), Peter Teodorescu (DMSB ’19), and Nicholas Reiff (DMSB ’18), and Sandesh Mendis (E’19) took part in, which included visits to HP and Intel and intimate sessions with local accelerators and start-ups like Airobotics.
Associate professor of marketing and trip leader Amir Grinstein explains the true value of an Israeli excursion: “If you want to learn about innovation the best places to learn are constrained to two areas: Silicon Valley and Israel.”
D’Amore-McKim student Peter Teodorescu explains how his team proposed a hackathon to help one start-up address key business issues: “The presentation my team worked on was based on our startup’s need to develop a way to bring their idea to the attention of a younger, more tech-savvy generation. They hoped younger people would be able to use their product and find new ways to implement it.”
It wasn’t all business, of course. Students took a swim in the Dead Sea, spent a night in a traditional Bedouin Village, and visited Masada, where 2,000 year old “engineering and building skills combined to create a water system located in the middle of a desert.”
Catherine Hogan spoke of the lessons she gleaned from the trip, particularly the Israeli “entrepreneurial spirit.” She remarked that Israel is “a hub for creativity that no other country in the world can replicate.”
About the Author
Jonathan Pfeffer
Jonathan Pfeffer joined the Clear Admit and MetroMBA teams in 2015 after spending several years as an arts/culture writer, editor, and radio producer. In addition to his role as contributing writer at MetroMBA and contributing editor at Clear Admit, he is co-founder and lead producer of the Clear Admit MBA Admissions Podcast. He holds a BA in Film/Video, Ethnomusicology, and Media Studies from Oberlin College.
