Israel's high tech community, ("Silicon Wadi"),
with an estimated 5000 startups established during the past decade, has
achieved global recognition, ranking third in the world (after the US
and Canada) in the number of companies listed on NASDAQ. Many of these
have become internationally recognized leaders in their fields. However,
despite these dazzling success stories, the fact is that most startups
fail - due in part to lack of business experience, leadership, and understanding
of market requirements. The founders of these companies may have the personal
attributes required for success - boldness, vision, and great ideas -
as well as business degrees from accredited institutes of higher learning.
However, their business studies - though, in many cases, academically
superior - often leave them unprepared for the real world.
The need for an advanced degree that offers hands-on,
practical experience for entrepreneurs has been answered by Prof. Liora
Katzenstein and her international team, who have established ISEMI - the
Institute for the Study of Entrepreneurship and Management of Innovation.
The uniqueness of ISEMI's program lies in the interaction between rigorous
academic studies and their application to students' own business projects.
ISEMI acts as an "incubator in a classroom" - guiding students
through all the stages of founding and growing a new venture - from opportunity
identification and evaluation through raising capital and managing growth.
The school teaches its students to leverage the windows of opportunity
presented to their fledgling companies, and to avoid the most common,
and often fatal, mistakes, thereby enabling ideas and dreams to become
profitable businesses.
Partnered with Australia's Swinburne University of
Technology, ISEMI offers SUT's unique MEI degree (Master of Entrepreneurship
and Innovation) an 18-month, 540-hour program geared to working professionals.
The program - boasting an 87% rate of graduates launching new ventures
- was awarded the prize for best program in Entrepreneurship at the IntEnt
Conference in Monterey, California, in 1997, and is the only foreign business
program to have received full approval by Israel's Council of Higher Education.
ISEMI's first seven intakes have already spawned over 20 ventures, including
several Internet startups and a seed capital fund. In addition to Australia
and Israel, the program is being offered in New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia,
and Indonesia.
The MEI program is designed for entrepreneurs who
start their own companies, as well as for intrepreneurs - managers who
are responsible for launching new ventures within existing organizations
of various sizes. Course-work is geared to turning out a new breed of
managers who are capable of dealing with the realities of the modern economy,
where many of the old rules about business strategy, product cycles, finance,
and personnel are obsolete. In today's high tech environment, people are
a company's primary asset, and creativity and flexibility are essential
for success. Given the lightning speed at which today's industries are
changing, great technology is not enough. Without ongoing market research
and the ability to alter a company's business strategy - quickly and dramatically
- success is unlikely.
The MEI program is practice-oriented. Students are
required to either be involved with an existing venture or have an idea
for a new venture. The studies are project-based, as opposed to exam-based,
with most projects carried out by multi-disciplinary teams that are closely
supervised by ISEMI's faculty members.
ISEMI applicants require a recognized first degree
and proven entrepreneurial interest, backed by business experience, as
well as a personal interview. According to Prof. Katzenstein, "We
don't create entrepreneurs. We take entrepreneurs and give them tools."
ISEMI runs two intakes per year consisting of 25-30 students each, ranging
in age from 25-60, with an average age of 35. Fifty percent of the students
are from the high tech industry, with the remainder coming from professions
such as law, accounting, consulting, public relations, and pastry baking.
In addition to a limited number of scholarships, the school has arranged
for preferential tuition loans through Bank Hapoalim.
All courses at ISEMI are taught in English to its
international student body (which includes students from North America,
Australia, Germany, Spain, various African countries, and Israel) by top-tier
lecturers from around the world, who combine academic excellence with
real-life business experience. In order to teach at ISEMI, one must have
had the experience of managing a company, hiring and firing people, as
well as raising and managing money. According to Katzenstein, the special
problems associated with entrepreneurship are based on a combination of
factors, e.g., marketing difficulties are often linked to finances as
well as to manpower and organizational structure. Lecturers with only
theoretical knowledge, says Katzenstein, cannot contribute the added value
of personal experience.
ISEMI students enjoy schedule flexibility as well
as the close personal attention and support of staff members, who are
on hand to provide timely strategic advice. Students also enjoy the benefits
of the school's growing pool of international alumni and associates, who
can be called upon for assistance. The school maintains close ties with
the Australian Embassy, and in particular, with the Australian Ambassador
to Israel, Mr. Ross Burns.
Prof. Katzenstein, who conceived of and founded ISEMI
and arranged for its acceptance as the official branch of SUT in Israel,
brings to the school her impressive credentials from the worlds of academia
and business. President and CEO of ISEMI, Katzenstein has an MALD in Law
and Diplomacy from Tufts University, was appointed a Visiting Doctoral
Fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration, and
earned a Ph.D. in International Economics from the Graduate Institute
of International Studies at the University of Geneva. She has owned and
managed a business development consultancy, is considered a pioneer in
Entrepreneurial Education in Israel, has lectured at most of Israel's
universities and management institutions, and is a member of the Board
of Directors of several major Israeli corporations.
Another illustrious member of ISEMI's team is Prof.
Murray Gillin, creator of the MEI degree and formerly Australia's defense
research attach? to the US, who was awarded the Order of Australia for
his contribution to the Australian economy through this program. Prof.
Gillin comes to Israel regularly for extended stays.
Additional members of ISEMI's world-class teaching
staff include: Rafael Boritzer, Director of Graduate studies at the school,
who is the founder and manager of a chain of 17 medical centers in the
US; Norman Kaderlan, Director of the Austin Technology Incubator in Texas;
Sam Burshtein, co-founder of ISEMI, a former BCG consultant and currently
an Israeli Venture Capitalist; Richard Linowes, an HBS DBA who worked
at Goldman Sachs; Dr. Reto Calegari, a Swiss investment banker with vast
Asian experience; and many others.
For further information, visit ISEMI's website,
or contact
Ms. Herzliya Elshtein, Registrar, at Tel: 972-3-642-4422 or E-mail: info@isemi.org.
