Annual Social Entrepreneurship Competition

Each year, the Dean of Student Affairs holds a social entrepreneurship competition, offering financial prizes to student-led initiatives. The competition is designed to promote social initiatives and impact projects in the areas of education and inequality, social and gender exclusion, socio-economic challenges, social justice and the exercising of rights, sustainability and the environment, support for people with special needs, and the fight against violence, racism, and human rights violations. Every year, dozens of projects apply to the participate in the competition, which is sponsored by AU10TIX, and from them, between 6-8 are selected to advance to the finals. The finals are held as a festive Demo Day before a panel of senior industry judges. At the conclusion of the event, the winning projects receive a financial grant worth tens of thousands of shekels, along with a support package that includes offices, legal support, and financial advice.

Winners of the Annual Social Entrepreneurship Competition for the 2024-2025 academic year: 

First place was awarded to the Solid project, developed by Noga Glassner, a GMBA student in the Entrepreneurship and Innovation track at Reichman University, and Shani Yaakobi-Zelnik, a doctoral student of social work at the Hebrew University.

Solid is designed to prevent chronic PTSD following sexual trauma. The product supports victims of sexual assault at the critical transition point when emergency care ends and the intensive process of dealing with the emotional, medical, and bureaucratic consequences of assault begins.

The initiative is based on a smart conversational interface (LLM), visual content, and an advanced monitoring system capable of detecting when human intervention is needed. Solid provides ongoing, personalized, and proactive support, helping users regain control by organizing, planning, and functioning effectively.

Second place went to Edventure.il, created by Or Ghibli, an MBA student specializing in strategy and business development at Reichman University, and Eran Heller, an MBA graduate in the same track.

Edventure.il is an Israeli EdTech company established with the vision of building an an AI-driven learning platform that delivers a personalized and precise educational experience for every student. The company has developed an innovative profiling system that maps out each student’s cognitive, emotional, and attentional learning styles and creates a personal learning profile for them.

Using this data, the platform allows teachers to plan personalized lessons, form effective learning groups within the class, and gain practical pedagogical insights.

Edventure.il collaborates with schools and local authorities to help reduce educational gaps, promote student independence, and connect advanced technology with real classroom needs.

Third place was awarded to Compasso, developed by Omer Bar, an undergraduate student in communications specializing in marketing at Reichman University, Sahar Nafshi, a law and MBA student at Reichman University, and Tamir Rosenblum.

Compasso is an app designed to improve the quality of life of people living with chronic illnesses. Chronic conditions accompany patients throughout their lives, affecting many aspects aside from their health. Chronically-ill individuals experience difficulty managing a routine and adapting to transitions, which significantly impairs their overall well-being. The app provides a supportive framework to help users navigate day-to-day challenges, drawing on the collective knowledge and experience of a wider community.

Compasso serves as a tool to help bridge the gap between those living with illness and those who are not — empowering users to lead fuller, more integrated lives.

Winners of the Annual Social Entrepreneurship Competition for the 2023-2024 academic year: 

First place was awarded to Tunefork, a project by economics and entrepreneurship student Tomer Shor. Tunefork is an audio personalization software that delivers the highest quality hearing experience, significantly improving quality of life for people with hearing loss. Through the Tunefork app, users can take a simple yet clinically accurate hearing test that maps their individual hearing profile. The test results, combined with sophisticated frequency-matching algorithms, are used to create an optimal audio experience tailored to the user — a personalized audio profile. Tunefork can be integrated into any smart device, across any operating system, and enhances all types of audio content: phone calls, ringtones and notifications, TV shows, voice messages, music, video, GPS directions, in-car entertainment, smart assistant responses, and more. 

Second place went to Period, an initiative by students Neta Yancovitch, an economics and sustainability student, and Gabriela Trubowitz, a business administration student. Period is an innovative employee health benefits program that enables companies to provide sustainable, recycled menstrual products in the workplace. The service promotes diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) by supporting women employees, reinforces corporate sustainability goals by reducing plastic waste, and strengthens companies’ ability to attract and retain top female talent.

A special award was given to Memories in Colors, a moving and unique initiative supported by the Dean of Student Affairs. The project, launched in the aftermath of the events of October 7th by Danielle Baron, a business administration and psychology student, brings together 150 volunteer artists who create scrapbooks for the victims of the terrible massacre. These albums capture the life stories of the murdered and the fallen, serving as a lasting keepsake for their families and friends.

Winners of the Annual Social Entrepreneurship Competition for the 2022-2023 academic year: 

First place was awarded to Reciv, a digital investment platform focused on alternative energy, developed by students Jonathan Abraham Salem, a student of sustainability and government, Keren Nikolaivsky, a student of communications, and Oren Meczyk, a student of psychology. 

Second place went to Bono, a free platform that connects people in need of food with available food at no cost, developed by computer science and entrepreneurship students Omer Ran-Cohen and Yuval Tomer.

Third place was awarded to Ecoswap, a project that collects Halloween costumes from Jewish families in the US and brings them to Israel for reuse on Purim by children from families with limited financial means. The project was initiated by Tal Inbar and Dana Ronen Delaroza, both students of entrepreneurship and business administration.

Winners of the Annual Social Entrepreneurship Competition for the 2021-2022 academic year: 

First place was awarded to Splash, a project initiated by the late Liam Shrem, z”l — a student of business administration and entrepreneurship who was murdered at the Nova Festival on October 7, 2023 — and Nadav Mor, a student of law and government. The two renovated neglected sports fields in collaboration with municipalities, local artists, and nonprofit organizations, transforming them into vibrant community spaces. These renewed fields hosted events, competitions, and sports activities aimed at encouraging residents to embrace a healthy and active lifestyle. Watch a video of the construction of the first field here.

Second place went to Right-On, a project dedicated to the realization of the rights entitled to lone soldiers. The initiative was founded by Amit Arbel, a student of government in the honors program, Daniel Penso, a business administration student at the Raphael Recanati International School, and Ido Biton, an electrical engineering student at the Holon Institute of Technology. All three founders served as lone soldiers and are recipients of scholarships from the Heseg Foundation.

Third place was awarded to Surfers Without Limits, a project initiated by government students Aviv Levy and Omer Holler. Operating in collaboration with Sadnat Gal and Beit Halochem, the initiative focuses on the rehabilitation of disabled IDF veterans coping with post-traumatic stress disorder, primarily through surfing.