Educating future leaders
Continuing on their walk around campus, Reichman and Davis decide to check on the new Adelson School of Entrepreneurship that was recently inaugurated. Taking its cue from Reichman’s 20-year journey of academic entrepreneurship, this new department offers academic courses catering to students from all of the faculties on campus, including Business, Government, Economics, Psychology, Communications, Sustainability and Computer Science – either as part of joint academic programs or as stand-alone electives complementing students’ fields of study.
“IDC Herzliya prides itself on educating the future generation of leaders to serve Israel and the world at large,” notes Davis, adding that, “Those who employ our graduates understand that our alumni are trained to hit the ground running and that they have a background that combines academics with practical skills.”
Despite its short history, IDC Herzliya alumni are already responsible for start-up exits in excess of $200 million! Many of these successful graduates were in the Zell Entrepreneurship Program. Currently in its 13th year, the Zell program provides students with an opportunity to apply advanced entrepreneurial studies to the creation of real business ventures. Generously supported in vision and funding by Sam Zell of Chicago, the program is designed for outstanding undergraduates in their final year at IDC Herzliya. The program is taught in English in order to best acclimate students to the global business environment.
Most satisfied students
The next stop for Davis is a meeting of the Scholarship Committee for Students from Abroad, of which he is the chairperson, while Reichman heads for the Faculty Club. The Scholarship Committee has convened to discuss the case of a second year student from Turkey, and is trying to find ways to provide more need-based scholarships for her as well as for other students.
The next item on the agenda regards increasing the level of financial aid for Jews from Venezuela, and to help the younger generation of this distraught community pursue a higher education in Israel. For purely Zionist reasons, IDC Herzliya has decided to send a representative to Venezuela to help with the process of absorbing more students from that country. There are currently 50 Venezuelans studying at IDC, but Davis believes that many more would like to come to Israel, especially if they receive full scholarships.
Meanwhile, at the Faculty Club, Prof. Reichman speaks with professors from different departments. IDC Herzliya prides itself on the fact that its professors are at the top of their fields, and that most are graduates of Ivy League schools, as well as MIT, Oxford, Cambridge, Stanford and the best Israeli universities. In addition to training students, they are engaged in state-of-the-art, groundbreaking academic research.
When he founded IDC, Reichman’s vision was to create an academic environment where the faculty and the students are partners. Accordingly, professors are very accessible to their students and don’t even have a separate cafeteria. Undoubtedly, this approach has contributed to the university’s growing popularity. In fact, in a recent survey, the Israeli National Students Union ranked IDC Herzliya in first place for the fourth consecutive year for students being most satisfied with the quality of the teaching, as well as with the facilities.
Academic Garden of Eden
At the end of the day, Davis and Reichman decided to show us the museum at the Sammy Ofer School of Communications. Telling the story of the development of communications around the globe from the early 20th century onward, this fascinating museum places special emphasis on the documentation of media activities prior to and during the establishment of the State of Israel.