This summer, hundreds of college students from around the world will be coming to Israel for 6-10 weeks to work at Israeli companies and organizations in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and beyond. These are not make-your-coffee interns; they will be researching business trends, designing pricing models, sourcing deal flow, planning events and redesigning websites.
The smart CEOs who invest in this program aren’t doing it to ‘give back’ – they’re doing it for the value. For the drive and intensity of working with college students who are hungry for real-world experience. For the market knowledge these students bring from US, Asian, and European markets. For the long-term relationships to be established with students who will go on to work at global tech companies, Fortune 500 companies, venture capital firms, and hedge funds.
The program is not a trip - it's a foundation [for] the start of long-term relationships that last years. Ask Ezra, who after his experience with TAMID Group went on to work at a multi-million dollar corporation, signing contracts exclusively with Israel start-ups because he saw the ‘edge’ it would give him.
Ask Idan, who invested his company’s resources in Alexi, from Onward Israel, which led him to a deal with a major US conglomerate. Ask Yehuda, whose intern extended a week-long trip to Beijing into a semester so the intern could help Yehuda secure investors and hire directors in China and South Korea.
There is some good news: organizations like TAMID Group and umbrella organizations like Onward Israel have been doing this for several years. And the results are stunning – thousands of students like the three mentioned above. But there is also a warning:
We’re in danger of shooting ourselves in the foot.
Like a bad financial adviser, we’re focusing on short-term gains. We’re letting ourselves get carried away with the angry tone of public discourse, focusing only on conflict and enemies, and letting golden opportunities pass us by. News stories eagerly cash in on every disagreement; influencers distort stories to stir conflict. Professionals ‘don’t have the bandwidth’ to work with college students. Philanthropists think responding to current events can only mean funding the political fray.
Programs that connect professionally-minded students with Israel’s most innovative companies aren’t just yielding value here in Israel; they are changing the nature of what it means to build a connection to Israel. They engage millennials outside of religion and politics, on a level that will establish important global ties in the years to come. But that will only be if we can tone down the rhetoric long enough to make some long-term plans.
The writer is CEO of TAMID Group.