A Closer Look at the Start-Up Nation Block Week Class
The Chazen Institute offers a May block week course in collaboration with Reichman University, Arison School of Business in Israel. CBS MBA students take the course, and work in mixed teams with Reichman MBA students, who currently take an active role in the Israeli innovation ecosystem, to facilitate cultural exchanges and allow all students to experience the Israeli startup culture.
The course will take place over 5 full days (Sunday – Thursday),
Students will be exposed to various aspects of the way innovation is initiated and managed in Israel with an emphasis on the characteristics of the "start-up nation" management style.
The 2023 course consists of two main components:
Academic Classes
Classes are led by Professor Jacob Goldenberg and Prof. Oren Zuckerman. Professor Jacob Goldenberg is a marketing professor at Reichman and a visiting professor at Columbia Business School, and Professor Oren Zuckerman is the founder of Reichman's Media Innovation Lab and the Academic Director of the Innovation & Entrepreneurship Global MBA track. The lectures will explore various aspects of innovation, entrepreneurship, and value creation.
Specific topics include:
- technology-based revolution
- the importance of short-term planning
- how to master change before it masters you (with an emphasis on the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak on the Israeli innovation ecosystem)
- value creation through need identification
- need validation strategies
- solution validation strategies
- contradiction as a first sign of innovation
- resistance to innovation
- specific use cases of technology innovation, from mobiles to Internet of Things
Talks and Company Visits With Israeli Industry Leaders
Subjects include:
- angel investors, VCs, and serial entrepreneurs
- Israel’s unique models for innovation
- how a culture of innovation can be built and nurtured
- emerging trends within the Israeli entrepreneurship ecosystem
- investors' perspective on the Israeli technology market in times of crisis
Students will interact with leading figures from successful companies and startup accelerators, who will share the "behind the scenes" of Israeli innovation.
Block week courses differ from Global Immersion Program (GIP) courses. GIP courses meet for classes before the travel period, whereas block week classes do not.
*Sign-up will take place during Summer Course Match, and is open to students taking summer 2024 courses