$$News and Reports$$

Jun. 27, 2019

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Students from the Department of Hotel and Tourism Management participated in a unique hackathon as part of their Fundamentals of Market Research course taught by Prof. Yaniv Poria. The academic goal of this hackathon was to enable the students to cope with a real management challenge in the field, under pressure of limited time. Prof. Poria teamed up with Elad Azoulay, director of the Recreation and Community Division at the Kivunim Company to come up with an idea that would serve the academic goal, as well as solve an actual, even pressing concern of the Kivunim Company, in charge of the city's tourist sites. Two prime sites were chosen for the challenging concern put to the students to solve: Abraham's Well, and the ANZAC Memorial Center. These two sites were selected because they are rarely visited by Beer Sheva residents. Azoulay presented the students with the challenge he and his team have not been able to solve: how to double the local demand for these sites within six months, within a budget of NIS 10,000. 

The students were asked to develop research solutions that will offer management solutions based on literature review, interviews and questionnaires. During the day, students could consult with a team of experts at their disposal. After six hours, the students presented their recommendations (each group was allotted five minutes) before the panel of judges, which consisted of a wide range of officials. Mr. Azoulay's appeal to recruit the winning students to implement their innovative ideas is proof of the management abilities of the students in the department, and this important activity aimed at enriching and empowering the students Prof. Poria, who is also the head of the Department of Hotel Management and Tourism, claims that such activities have a tremendous contribution to the students' learning process and they demonstrate to the students the importance and responsibility of the principal as well as the importance Informed and well-researched decisions. 

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