IDC Herzliya kicked off first new MBA program in Healthcare Innovation

MBA program in Healthcare Innovation. This program is one of its kind in Israel, focusing on management, innovation and entrepreneurship.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Updated: JANUARY 3, 2019 14:55
IDC Herzliya opens a new MBA program in Healthcare Innovation. (photo credit: OREN SHALEV)
IDC Herzliya opens a new MBA program in Healthcare Innovation.
(photo credit: OREN SHALEV)
On November 9th the Arison School of Business at IDC Herzliya kicked off its first cohort of a new MBA program in Healthcare Innovation. Held in  partnership with the Chaim Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer, this is a prestigious, one-year international program designed for professionals from Israel and abroad.
Prof. Varda Liberman, Head of Program, said at the opening event: “Today we are happy to launch our new MBA program in Healthcare Innovation. This program is one of its kind in Israel, focusing on management, innovation and entrepreneurship in healthcare.
She went on to say: “During the many years since I joined IDC Herzliya, at its establishment, I have experienced many exciting moments. But it is certainly one of the most, if not the most moving, of them. A dream that started three year ago
came true and became a reality beyond any expectation: the amazing students enrolled in the program, the curriculum we have built, the faculty of the program and the visiting lecturers from Ivy League universities such as Stanford and Harvard, as well as industry experts are beyond anything we could have dreamed of and hoped for. We have in our class forty-six amazing students, out of which fourteen are international ones, coming from all over the globe including Vietnam, Portugal, Mexico, Canada, Australia the United States and more. There are fourteen physicians and the rest are from various professions in the healthcare world: researchers, entrepreneurs, engineers, people from the pharmaceutical field, data scientists, neurobiologists and others.
Prof. Yitzhak Kreiss, the General Director of Sheba Medical Center, said: “We realized that what the healthcare industry needs is a new leadership that will be able to lead the transformation that is happening in healthcare. We believe that in order to cope with the new demands of the healthcare world, you first need a degree in business administration. Secondly, since not all of you come from the healthcare system, you do not have the experience and knowledge that we think is essential in creating the leadership of the future healthcare system. Thirdly, is innovation - the desire for change, dynamism, something young, new or as I call it – the
desire to do something that we have no idea how to do. You will be the next generation of the healthcare world leaders and as the CEO of the largest hospital in Israel, I can tell you - we need you.
Nuno Sousa Dias from Portugal, one of the students in the program, says: “Having a medical background and some years of clinical experience working as an orthodontist in different environments worldwide, I understood that healthcare is complex and is changing rapidly. To be prepared for this change it's necessary to have an “outside of the box” way of thinking. Being passionate about innovation, I felt that Israel is the place to be. More than just a country, Israel is a comprehensive state of mind. In a very short time a business idea becomes a startup and a startup becomes a successful company. I believe that being an MBA in Healthcare
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and Innovation student at IDC, I am with the right faculty to get the tools to shape the future and to be part of the next generation of the world leaders in healthcare.”
Prof. Liberman says the program aims to prepare future healthcare industry leaders to develop solutions and address significant changes in the technological, scientific, pharmaceutical, digital, and policy arenas. It will also address the growing global need for emergency and disaster management.
Students in the program will study three core areas: business administration, healthcare management, and innovation and
entrepreneurship. Guest lecturers will include speakers from Ivy League universities and industry experts.
A highlight of the program is the hands on practicum in innovation and entrepreneurship during which students will be placed at Israeli healthcare organizations, medical startups, public companies, medical accelerators and NGOs.
Sita Heeks, international student, says: “My career began in Australia as a nurse and, after many years working in various hospitals in Australia and abroad, I made the decision to join an international medical NGO. After completing sixteen missions over seven years, and working my way up to Medical Team Leader and Project Manager, I realized that I wanted to learn more about medical innovation and study the highest level strategies  for management. I selected to pursue an MBA in Healthcare Management
and Innovation at IDC because I felt that it would give me new skills and perspectives to offer, not only to teams in the field, but perhaps even change the way health care is delivered within the humanitarian setting.”
For more information, please visit the IDC.