McGill Desautels Israel Study Trip

Given Shabbat celebrations, we had an optional guided tour of the Bahai’I Gardens and Acre in Haifa. From Mount Carmel, we had the view of the Shrine of the Bab and from a distance, the bay towards Acre. We then toured the Old Town of Acre stopping by the Underground Prisoners Museum and the Hamam El Basha Museum (Turkish Bath House). Students rested well and had a great dinner together in Haifa.

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As part of a collaborative study trip between the Desautels - McGill University and Hebrew University Business School, groups of Canadian and Israeli students collaborate on projects applying course concepts to selected partnering startups.

We woke up at 4AM to hike up Masada in time to watch the sunrise, learning much of the interesting and tragic history of the site from our tour guide while roaming around the ancient palaces and fortifications of Herod the Great.
On your way to Haifa, we stopped by Caesarea to get from fresh air from the Mediterranean coast and visit the Roman Hippodrome.

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As part of a collaborative study trip between the Desautels - McGill University and Hebrew University Business School, groups of Canadian and Israeli students collaborate on projects applying course concepts to selected partnering startups.

After the hike in the national park, we then travelled to Kfar Hanokdim to learn about the Bedouin community in Israel firsthand from a fascinating ambassador from that community: a Bedouin woman who is passionate about uplifting other Bedouin women through social and financial means. We also enjoyed a Bedouin feast, a camel ride at sunset, and a night in Bedouin tents. Nothing short of an unforgettable experience!

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As part of a collaborative study trip between the Desautels - McGill University and Hebrew University Business School, groups of Canadian and Israeli students collaborate on projects applying course concepts to selected partnering startups.

A packed day filled with the most unique experiences! We first visited the lowest point on Earth: the Dead Sea, having lots of fun floating in one of the saltiest bodies of water on the planet and spreading clay all over each other. Our next stop was the Ein Gedi Natural Reserve, an oasis in the Judean Desert with stunning springs and waterfalls where some of us wade in the shallow waters.

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As part of a collaborative study trip between the Desautels - McGill University and Hebrew University Business School, groups of Canadian and Israeli students collaborate on projects applying course concepts to selected partnering startups.

We also spent a day at Hebrew University-HUBS where a series of presentations took place, starting with the one from Eyal Dushansky, a HUJI graduate, as well as Founder and CEO of Certomo. Certomo is a fintech start-up: it consists of a financial aggregation platform offering a full dashboard view of all accounts of a business to allow financial executives to manage value, liquidity, and risk. Eyal’s talk was then followed by Shai Hods’. Also a HUJI alumnus, Shai is the Founder and CEO of iArgento, which invested in Chakratec, Tuqqi, and Skopos.AI. Naor Biton, a student from our group, introduced his co-founded Maayan Impact Investing which focus on investing in start-ups that aim to produce a measurable impact, that operate in Jerusalem or were established by HUJI alumni.

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As part of a collaborative study trip between the Desautels - McGill University and Hebrew University Business School, groups of Canadian and Israeli students collaborate on projects applying course concepts to selected partnering startups.

Tour day in Jerusalem! The tour started at the Mount of Olives, from which we enjoyed a panoramic view of Jerusalem with the Temple Mount with the Dome of the Rock, the Hinnom Valley, and the Judean Dessert in the distance. From there, we walked down to the Church of All Nations and the Garden of Gethsemane. We then strolled around the four quarters of the Old City: Christian, Muslim, Jewish, and Armenian. Some notable landmarks we visited were the Western Wall, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Room of the Last Supper, the Jaffa Gate, the Bethlehem’s Manger Square, the Church of St-Anne, and many more. The experience felt unreal to many students, especially for those who are religious.

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As part of a collaborative study trip between the Desautels - McGill University and Hebrew University Business School, groups of Canadian and Israeli students collaborate on projects applying course concepts to selected partnering startups.

Landed in Israel🇮🇱! On our first full day in Israel, we visited Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center. This moving experience started and ended with a visit to the Gerald Schwartz and Heather Reisman bench outside the museum entrance.

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As part of a collaborative study trip between the Desautels - McGill University and Hebrew University Business School, groups of Canadian and Israeli students collaborate on projects applying course concepts to selected partnering startups.

Montreal’s company visits began with Centech, a non-profit incubator supporting hi-tech / deeptech startups. After Richard Chenier (CEO) gave us a tour and overview of Centech’s activities, we assisted an interactive panel with three entrepreneurs: Collins Oghor (Co-Founder and CEO of Collogh Cares, a digital health technology and advocacy start-up, committed to preventing kidney failure), Isabelle Bettez (Co-Founder of 8 Technologies, a company that developed M2M bicycle-sharingsystems and automated parking management systems – now acquired by Lyft), and Chloe Ryan (Founder and CEO of Acrylic, an art-tech startup using robotics and ML to allow artists to sell limited-edition NFT-authenticated collections of art conceived by them and painted by their robotic twin with real paint on canvas at scale)

During the latter half of the afternoon, the group was hosted by BDC. Steven Abrams, partnermanaging the IT Venture and Women in Tech Funds, extensively discussed the venture capital landscape in Canada, with valuable insights on governmental initiatives such as the Venture Capital Action Plan (VCAP) and Venture CapitalCatalyst Initiative (VCCI).

The last stop was Paper, an educational tech-company that partners with schools and school districts to provide students with free, unlimited, 24/7 tutoring. The founder, Philip A. Cutler, and CTO, Roberto Cipriani, shared the group with the company history and their personal experiences.

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As part of a collaborative study trip between the Desautels - McGill University and Hebrew University Business School, groups of Canadian and Israeli students collaborate on projects applying course concepts to selected partnering startups.

Started company visits in Quebec City!
First stop was Le Camp, one of the biggest incubator for high-tech startups in Canada. Afterwards, we visited the Coveo, an AI-powered start-up which closed a $215 IPO less than 1 year ago. The founder, Laurent Simoneau, walked us through Coveo’s exciting history since its foundation to pivot and until now. We wrapped up the day roaming in Old Quebec, the historic and cultural heart of Quebec City.

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As part of a collaborative study trip between the Desautels - McGill University and Hebrew University Business School, groups of Canadian and Israeli students collaborate on projects applying course concepts to selected partnering startups.

The program is off a solid start with a hike in Charlevoix, Canada!

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As part of a collaborative study trip between the Desautels - McGill University and Hebrew University Business School, groups of Canadian and Israeli students collaborate on projects applying course concepts to selected partnering startups.

McGill Desautels Israel Study Trip updated their business hours.