Ono Business School Notes – December 2022

The Business School at Ono Academic College has been busy during the month of December, organizing high-quality events, led by some of Israel’s most innovative scholars on topics critical to the business world, both in Israel and internationally.  Here are some snippets:

  • Panel Discussion on “Brand challenges in a changing era” – Facilitated by Dr. Michal Shapira, Deputy Dean of the School of Business Administration and Director of the Department of Advertising and Marketing Communications. This panel was one of the highlights of the “Adif Conference”, the annual conference of the insurance and finance industry in Israel.  The discussion focused on changes and developments in the insurance and finance industry, in Israel and around the world. The panel’s participants included the Marketing VPs of the biggest insurance companies in the country: Migdal, Ayalon and Clal. In a fascinating discussion, the panel addressed challenge after challenge, setting out their vision for the industry over the next few years.
  • Sports Unions Conference – Organized, in part, by Dr. Niv Nachlieli, Director of the Sports Management Specialization at Ono Academic College’s Masters in Business Administration program. Interest in competitive sports in Israel is soaring.  Just ask Nicole Zelikman, Olympic athlete and Ono student. However, the sports industry also needs to be managed properly in order to succeed. This month, the Israeli Sports Unions gathered to learn best practices from each other. Dr. Niv Nachlieli was responsible for initiating and creating the content and leadership for the conference held in Be’er Sheva. In the fascinating proceedings, participants presented case studies of successful initiatives drawn from a diverse array of sports.  The Directors of the Sports Unions shared secrets of success and how to leverage them in the run up to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
  • Applying Insights from Business and Psychology for the Intelligence Services – A Presentation by Prof. Talya Miron-Shatz, Founding Director of Ono’s Center for the Study of Medical Decision Making, School of Business.  At a classified event held at an army base in an undisclosed location, Prof. Miron-Shatz was invited by the military’s top brass, together with other business and academic leaders, to harness technology, information, economics and behavioral psychology.  The military hopes to use this knowledge and experience in order to position the Israel Defense Forces in an advantageous way to confront the challenges of the upcoming years. Prof. Miron-Shatz ran a fascinating workshop on behavioral economics and presented her findings to the Director of the IDF’s Intelligence Corps, Major General Aharon Haliva.
  • A Working Visit to the Country of Georgia Under the Auspices of Erasmus+ and the LoveDist@nce Project, Co-funded by the European Union – Organized by Prof. Tsipi Heart, Director of the Science and Technology School, at Ono Academic College’s School of Business Administration, and Dr. Naama Katz, Director of the Organizational Training Development and Simulation Center. Senior academic leaders from the country of Georgia invited a delegation of Ono faculty and staff to visit three Georgian universities in the cities of Batumi, Tbilisi and Telavi, where they participated in seminars at Telavi State University, Shota Rustaveli State University and Ilia State University. There they met students, faculty and administrators and learned how the LoveDist@nce Project, co-funded by the European Union, contributed to the development of online courses and in particular, courses adapted for students with special needs. The Project participants’ return visit to Israel is already at the final stages of planning and will take place on January 23, 2023.
  • Daniel Levinson, First Ono Exchange Student at Italian University – Organized by Dr. Ido Kalir, Director of the Specialization in Finance and Financial Markets in the Bachelors Degree program in Business Administration at Ono Academic College.  Ono instructor, Dr. Ido Kalir, arranged for his outstanding student, Daniel Levinson, to travel to Italy to spend a one-month research assignment at the Università degli Studi di Macerata.  Levinson is a graduate of the specialization program in finance and travelled to Italy on a full scholarship. By the time of his return to Israel, Levinson’s research had reached a very advanced state, and he had many rich life experiences while abroad. The trip and the scholarship were funded by the European Horizon 2020 organization. 
  • Visit with Admissions Officer from Boston’s Northeastern University – Arranged by Dr. Ofer Zellermayer, a lecturer at Ono’s business school who specializes in marketing.  Dr. Ofer Zellermayer invited Dina Snyder, Director of Admissions at Northeastern, to participate in a framework of student meetings at the Ono campuses in Kiryat Ono and Jerusalem. Snyder made a presentation to the students about a unique Master of Business Administration (MBA) program offered at her institution in Boston that provides full scholarships to qualified applicants.  Ono faculty Tova Markowitz and Rom Sherman hosted Snyder’s visits and the students expressed interest in this unique opportunity.