Where Entrepreneurs Thrive

January 2024

The Blender at HAC (Hadassah Academic College) is a hub of collaboration, innovation, and creative change.

The Blender Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship held a college-wide challenge this year in the field of climate change. Three start-ups from the climate-tech industry presented problems in their field for the students to develop creative and efficient solutions. Twenty-four unique proposals were submitted and evaluated by the team of judges, which included representatives from the industry, ultimately awarding three teams with cash prizes, thanks to the support of CHW.

The applicability of one of the winning proposed solutions is currently being validated for further development. This year, The Blender inaugurated a new branch at the Strauss campus for HAC’s ultra-Orthodox students. This expansion is significant as it engages innovative thinking and entrepreneurial approaches among students of the Haredi population, which is quickly gaining a quarter of Israel’s total population. To promote its activities among this group, The Blender added the “Business Entrepreneurship” course in the Computer Science department, and “Meet the Entrepreneurs,” a college-wide course to be taught in English.

25 Entrepreneurs:

As a result of the ongoing and successful venture with the Tikkun Olam Makers (TOM) community of 25 students from the DAN Department of Creative Human Design, The Blender is pursuing the development of additional entrepreneurial groups at the college. This year, with the help of an Arab-Israeli HAC graduate, The Blender established a group for entrepreneurs dedicated to the Arab student body, numbering about 35 students. The entrepreneurs group was launched at a meeting where the participants were exposed to the activity of Arab-Israeli entrepreneurs as well as the experiences and lessons of the graduate, who was accepted by one of the leading hi-tech companies. In the 2023-24 academic year, The Blender intends to establish a group for female entrepreneurs.

The Blender, in collaboration with the Municipality of Jerusalem’s Division for Business Promotion, initiated and executed “Digital Jerusalem.” The semester-long course provided 30 students from the DAN Department of Creative Human Design, and 50 students from Azrieli College’s Industry and Management Department, direct exposure to the needs of business owners, acquiring new experience in collaboration within teams from various organizations, expanding the students’ network of connections and, at the same time, contributing to the establishment of Jerusalem business activities online.

Learn More about HAC’s Entrepreneurs

• Read article in the ORAH Magazine
• Read more about HAC
• Hadassah Academic College Website