Final Reflection ? Israel & Business? ? BUSINESS, INNOVATION ...

Prior to my spring 2012 semester at Washington University in St. Louis, I had never before taken a business course, nor, did I plan on taking one in my future. I declared Anthropology as my major and was perfectly content with taking classes exclusively within the department. That is, however, before I heard someone talking about the course Business, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship in Israel. After a few days into the semester, my suitemates and I were discussing the classes in which we were enrolled sharing which ones we thought we were going to enjoy the most. One of my suitemates was in Steve Malter?s Business, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship in Israel class and within a couple minutes of our discussion, she began to boast about how great she thought it was going to be. As she talked about the class and how it was going to focus on the history and culture of Israel, in addition to focusing on business, innovation, and entrepreneurship, I became increasingly more interested. When she first mentioned that the class was a business course, I immediately didn?t think it was for me. The more and more she talked about it, though, the more and more appealing it became. Finally, she mentioned that the class would be taking a trip to Israel over Spring Break ? that was it, I was sold! I had never been to Israel before but growing up in a Jewish family, I had heard a lot about the country and was very interested in one day traveling to see it myself. This seemed like the perfect opportunity. I would be able to learn about the country, which I really did not know much about, and then get to witness and experience a semester?s worth of knowledge that I had gained. The day following my suite?s discussion, I immediately went to meet with Professor Malter to inquire about joining his class.? After filling out a few forms, I was enrolled. I was extremely excited for the class and could not wait for the trip. I was expecting to really enjoy both, but I did not predict the extent to which my enjoyment would reach.

One of the most enjoyable parts of the course was reading and discussing Start-up Nation. The book was fascinating and did an excellent job of portraying the culture and the mindset that is present in Israel today and that has allowed Israel to become one of the world?s leading powers in the high-tech industry. Another part of the course that I found to be uniquely beneficial to my understanding of Israeli culture and Israeli business and economics, was the frequent speakers. In many of the classes prior to the trip, Steve organized for several different speakers to come to our class and talk about their different experiences of doing business in Israel or with Israeli companies. It was interesting to note that each speaker made similar remarks about Israeli attitudes and tendencies when in business interactions. After each speaker, ?I became more and more curious as to whether or not their comments were accurate. Luckily for me, I was going to get the opportunity to find out.

The morning of the day I was to leave for Israel, I woke up in a cold sweat. The longest plane ride I had ever been on was four hours long and the only time I had ever traveled outside of the U.S. was on a trip to Mexico. I was therefore rather nervous for the journey on which I was about to embark, but I was still very excited. The plane ride went extremely smoothly, as I slept the entire way there, and after arriving in Israel and checking into the Hotel, I was confident that it was going to be a great trip. Our location in Tel Aviv, located right along the beach, was beautiful. On our second day of the trip we actually had the opportunity of walking along the beach from Tel Aviv to Jaffa while learning about some of the city?s history. This was one of the most wonderful aspects of the trip?we had the opportunity to learn about the history of Israel and how it has led to the modern foundations that exist, while living and experiencing the functions of these current foundations. Over the course of the trip we visited places such as Google, Intel, BetterPlace, and had the opportunity of meeting with representatives of different governmental forces including the spokesman for the Prime Minister. Each of the places we visited engaged us in open discussion where we were allowed and even encouraged to ask any question that we had ? it was an incredibly unique opportunity. I learned an immense amount during my time in Israel and had the opportunity to apply that knowledge when writing a final report on Education in Israel. My understanding of business increased significantly and my appreciation for Israel as a high-tech power force grew an immense amount.? The course offered a combination of classroom and experiential education that I believed greatly enhanced my holistic understanding of the state of Israel.

Rebecca ? College of Arts & Sciences ? Sophomore ? Illinois

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