During the month of August, I had the opportunity to partake in a unique experience.  Six students selected from various programs at the Adelson School of Entrepreneurship at Reichman University, along with an additional 14 students from Laurier University located in Waterloo, Canada, participated in this course.

The structure of this journey consisted of a week during which the Israeli students visited both the University of Waterloo and Toronto, while subsequently, the Canadian students came to Israel and were hosted in Tel Aviv.

The primary objective of this trip was to gain insight into the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Canada and Israel, encompassing its diverse components: economic, cultural, and social. Furthermore, it aimed to comprehend how variations in these components between the different countries might impact the development of our own entrepreneurial initiatives.

Laurier University, Waterloo

During our stay at the university, we attended lectures delivered by Dr. Tali Ramon and Mrs. Paquita Freire, both of whom delved into the concept of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in general. They discussed its constituent elements and how they influence the establishment of startups. Additionally, we received an overview of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Canada, with a particular focus on Waterloo.

We learned about Blackberry, the renowned company that has evolved into one of the leading cybersecurity and IoT companies globally. Neelam Sandhu, the company's Chief Marketing Officer, delivered an informative presentation.

We conducted tours at Vidyard, a company specializing in developing AI-based video messaging for marketing purposes, and local accelerators like SDG. These accelerators receive financial support from the Ontario government to aid early-stage ventures. These tours provided us with insights into the Canadian entrepreneurial ecosystem and the Canadian policy to support startups in their early stages.

During our time in Waterloo, we also had the opportunity to attend a university hockey game, in which one of the Canadian students from our delegation participated. We explored local bars and clubs, played soccer on the university field, and engaged in numerous enjoyable activities that allowed us to bond with the Canadian students and experience their unique Canadian culture.

Toronto

On Wednesday, we traveled directly to Toronto for what, in my opinion, was the highlight of our delegation - the visit to the Schwartz Reisman Foundation. Upon arrival, we were dressed in formal attire and ascended to the foundation's floor, where we could admire the unique view of Toronto and Lake Ontario.

The primary purpose of this visit was to meet with Mr. Richard Bass, the Director and Founder of Emet Education, a non-profit organization that serves as a knowledge source for education related to Israel and the Middle East. Our interaction with Richard was an interactive session, where he began by providing us with information about Israel and its positioning in relation to the Middle East and other countries worldwide, including Canada.

Subsequently, we proceeded to the central part of the meeting, where Canadian and Israeli students freely posed questions to one another on various topics. The questions were exceptionally thought-provoking, delving deeply into key issues. In my perception, this interaction broke the ice between the Canadian and Israeli students, leading to continued discussions throughout the remainder of the trip. Prominent topics included the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, military service, Israel's governmental policies, and the sentiments of Israeli students on these matters.

During this session, I personally felt a sense of responsibility and duty. It was an opportunity for me to represent and explain the situation in our country to individuals who rely solely on media and social networks for information. I also felt a personal responsibility to convey information in the most objective and fact-based manner possible, demonstrating that we can view the situation from a broader perspective.

We continued our stay in Toronto with visits to companies like LedN, a company specializing in digital assets. During this visit, we divided into groups and were tasked with addressing the company's marketing challenges. After the task, we joined the company's employees for an informal gathering.

We visited a unique summer fair held only during the summer months , a history museum, and a traditional baseball game. There's no doubt that this was a truly unique experience.

Tel Aviv

After arriving in Israel with the Canadian students, we toured Old Jaffa. This tour included a view of the Mediterranean Sea, lunch at a local restaurant, and a rooftop party in Tel Aviv that left the Canadian students eager to explore more of what Tel Aviv and Israel have to offer.

On the second day, we visited the Schwartz & Reisman Foundation, a philanthropic organization primarily focused on education in Israel, and had a conversation with Mr. Aviv Bushinsky, a journalist who now represents the foundation. We spoke with two lone soldiers who immigrated to Israel from the United States with the foundation's support. Following this, we toured the Peres Center for Innovation in Jaffa, exposing the Canadian students to the Israeli entrepreneurial ecosystem and technological innovations, many of which are products of Israeli ingenuity.

We visited the Canadian Embassy in Israel, where we learned about the embassy's support for our startup in Israel and Canada. We then went to Reichman University, where we attended lectures by Dr. Yossi Maaravi, Dr. Tali Ramon, and Mr. Ofir Reichman. These lectures covered topics such as the Israeli entrepreneurial ecosystem, current events in the state of Israel, Israeli culture, business collaborations as a recipe for success, and we were provided with a comprehensive overview of the activities at Reichman University and the Adelson School of Entrepreneurship.

The following day, we headed for the Dead Sea and Masada, and spent the night in a Bedouin hospitality village. The next part of the tour was Jerusalem, where we visited all the iconic sites, including the Mount of Olives, the Western Wall, the Jewish Quarter, Yad Vashem, and Mahane Yehuda Market.

Upon our return to Tel Aviv for the weekend, we endeavored to immerse the Canadian students in the Israeli way of life. We explored various places in Tel Aviv, including restaurants, bars and the beach, indulging them in typically Israeli dishes such as falafel, hummus and shawarma. Moreover, we connected them to the current situation in Israel and took them to witness one of the ongoing demonstrations, explaining the different opinions within Israeli society.

Next day, we visited AppsFlyer, where we had the opportunity to meet with Eddie Nudel, the VP of Business Strategy at the company, and Ben Levy, an alumnus of the Adelson School of Entrepreneurship at Reichman University who currently serves as the CEO & Founder of LocalBird, the first portfolio company of RUNI VC, Reichman University's venture capital fund.

Right after that, we embarked on a wine tasting tour at a vineyard in Zichron Yaakov, that was followed by a farewell evening for the Canadian students at Charles Clore Park. The farewell event featured a picnic and games.

On the final day, we visited Reichman University once again and attended additional lectures by Dr. Tali Ramon and Mr. Ofir Reichman. We concluded the day with presentations by the students, and in the evening, we enjoyed a final meal at the Benny Hadayag restaurant in the Tel Aviv Port.

Summary

Not every day do we get the opportunity to disconnect from everything, fly to a foreign country, thoroughly examine it in comparison to Israel, and then return to present it to others. In my eyes, beyond the wild adventure of this journey, I felt that I was given the chance to be an ambassador and expose 14 students and 2 staff members to both the beauty and the challenges of being an Israeli citizen.

After many months of complex emotions due to the situation in the country, I was able to look at everything from a different perspective and explain the complexity, but no less importantly, the successes and achievements of the State of Israel. Seeing the Canadians looking at Israelis with admiration and trying to understand how such a small country became a startup nation, and what the Israeli recipe for success in entrepreneurship is, was eye-opening.

The Israeli character, which is often perceived negatively, in fact provides a significant advantage when it comes to building businesses and entrepreneurship. The concept of "Chutzpah" which is often viewed as negative in the Hebrew language, was mentioned multiple times during the trip in the context of a character trait that Canadians need to adopt as a key component of success in entrepreneurship.

Personally, the trip was an enormous experience for me. I had the chance to meet Canadian and Israeli students and staff members from the top echelon—excellent individuals with shared values, without whom this trip would not have been the same.

I want to express my gratitude to the Gerald Schwartz & Heather Reisman Foundation for providing scholarships for participation in the program, to the staff of the Adelson School of Entrepreneurship — Dr. Yossi Maaravi, Dr. Tali Ramon, Mr. Ofir Reichman, and Mrs. Sharon Zahavi — for their support and guidance and thorough planning, as well as for their fascinating lectures for the group.

I also want to thank the Canadian staff who joined us on the trip—Mrs. Paquita Freire and Mr. Isaac Santi—for their continuous support throughout the trip.

Finally, I want to thank the Canadian and Israeli students for creating a special group and forming friendships that I'm sure will accompany me for years to come.