The challenges of living together on campus were at the center of a first-of-its-kind hackathon held on May 8 at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. The intensive entrepreneurship event was attended by 60 students from all faculties and honored with the presence of University President Prof. Daniel Chamovitz, Beer-Sheva Mayor Ruvik Danilovich, and other dignitaries.
The packed day of activities began with a joint discussion with groundbreaking social entrepreneurs who gave the students advice and tips on social entrepreneurship. Speakers included: Adina Bar-Shalom, founder of the ultra-Orthodox College of Jerusalem and recipient of the Israel Prize for Lifetime Achievement in 2014, and Hannah Rado, business and social entrepreneur, and founder of the Nineteen Group. In recognition of her contribution to promoting quality employment for women in Israel's periphery, Rado was awarded the Ben-Gurion Award in 2022.
The participants' knowledge was also enriched by lectures by Mohammed Al-Nabari, a talented social entrepreneur who has led many initiatives in the fields of sustainability, technology, and community; Ahmed Moasi of the Rothschild Foundation's board; Maagan Hayon, data analyst at Placer.ai, former CEO of the Hebrew University Student Union; and Tami Hai Sagiv, Director of the Department of Peace Education at the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation. Prof. Sarab Abu-Rabia Queder, Vice President of the University for Diversity and Inclusion, presented the Hackathon Challenge and gave the signal for the opening of the competition. Ten multidisciplinary and multicultural teams picked up the gauntlet and at the end of an intensive effort unveiled the projects. A panel of judges selected the best ideas and ranked the winners. The Bumble BGU team won first place for developing a project that contributes to bridging cultural gaps among students. The project proposes building an app similar to a dating app to map important topics and information gaps and create circles of discourse, make connections, and integrate into joint activities in response. Like apps familiar to students, swiping right indicates an interesting topic, and swiping left for a topic that is less interesting.
A collaboration between the Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion, Prof. Sarab Abu Rabia Queder, and the Dean of the Guilford Glazer Faculty of Business and Management, Prof. Mickey Malul, gave rise to the hackathon. The event was made possible with the support of the Edmond de Rothschild Foundation.
Photo Caption: A collaboration between the Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion, Prof. Sarab Abu Rabia Queder, and the Dean of the Guilford Glazer Faculty of Management, Prof. Mickey Malul, gave rise to the Hackathon. The event was made possible with the support of the Edmond de Rothschild Foundation.
