Where Behavior and Brain Intersect

TEL AVIV UNIVERSITY REVIEW
Summer 2010
Prof. Simon Benninga, who directs
the Sofaer IMBA and holds the Max
and Steffi Perlman Chair in Financial
Economics, says: “The Sofaer program,
taught in English by the best
professors from Tel Aviv and abroad,
reaches out to outstanding international
and Israeli students, who in
turn give added value to the class dynamics
of the program.”
Dr. Shawna Novak, a physician
from Canada and a master’s candidate
in the Conflict Resolution and
Mediation Program, has years of experience
in public and international
health, but believes there is a “lot of
value in studying in a diverse and international
group.” In learning from
one another’s experiences, she notes,
she and her classmates can more effectively
contribute to the resolution
process in conflict zones across the
world.
This cross-cultural perspective
was one of the main goals of the
International Master’s in Conflict
Resolution and Mediation, which
was born out of the highly successful
Hebrew-language Evens Program in
the same field. Courses delve into all
aspects of conflict resolution, including
international law, negotiation,
the ecological impact of conflict and
much more. The head of the program,
Prof. Ephraim Ya’ar, a former director
of TAU’s Tami Steinmetz Center
for Peace Research, believes that the
interdisciplinary curriculum “will
lead graduates to assume prominent
positions across countless fields of
practice.”
Novak, who works to alleviate
health care disparities as a way to
build bridges between populations,
thinks that her MA will provide her
with a new toolkit to take her diplomacy
work further. She expects to
use the techniques she’s learned at
TAU to “establish larger projects in
the health diplomacy field that work
more fluidly.”
Learning from the
landscape
For each of these programs, Israel
provides an unparalleled backdrop.
“An MBA class interacts with
the environment that it’s in,” says
Khumalo, whose studies are supported
by Gary Lubner of London, CEO
of plate glass manufacturer Berlon. “I
get to meet people that I wouldn’t anywhere
else – innovators, academics
and business leaders from the region.”
Ickowicz agrees. “The IMBA
teachers have the unique characteristic
of having a lot of contacts in
the industry,” he says. “They organize
workshops, speeches, lectures and
meetings with high profile industry
leaders. That opens the doors for all
the students participating in the program
to start business relationships
inside and outside of Israel.”
Recognizing how much Tel Aviv
gives to them, the Sofaer students
are volunteering in their adoptive
community. IMBA student Tanja
Kisseleff, a Swiss citizen born in the
Philippines, has gotten involved with
“MBA Cares,” a TAU student-driven
program that is currently working
with two organizations – Save
a Child’s Heart, and Shekulo Tov,
which helps mentally handicapped
people find work.
In the Right Spirit
Students in the Conflict Resolution
and Sofaer IMBA programs took
part in the SPIRIT conference at
the United Nations headquarters
in New York this April. SPIRIT –
Students Participating in Resolving
International Tension – is a peacebuilding
initiative sponsored by
Columbia University and the UN.
The TAU students presented their
plans for the development of
large-scale fish farms in the Gaza
Strip, entitled “Nets of Peace.”
11