Four Lessons From My Trip to Israel

I recently traveled to Israel along with a delegation comprising a group of students from Mexican universities, including Universidad Panamericana, IPN, ITAM, UNAM and Universidad Anáhuac. All of them are developing or already executing innovation projects with a social impact in diverse areas, such as foodtech, fire safety training, environment, healthcare technology and the aerospace industry.

The purpose of this delegation is to expose Mexican students to Israel’s innovation ecosystem, also known as the startup nation. Through a comprehensive schedule of visits to prominent startups, universities, innovation centers and the Israel Innovation Authority, we witnessed how this advanced ecosystem was built and also got a glimpse of the future. 

Besides learning, meeting extraordinary people and enjoying the vivid and diverse culture, this was an inspiring journey, most importantly for our Mexican youth, whom we need to support and encourage to carry on with these kinds of ventures. I would like to share four important lessons I learned in my time with the delegation:

Mindset

Israel’s geopolitical situation and its people’s history has forged them into a problem-solving society as they encounter adversity in their daily lives. It is a very small country surrounded by desert that has managed to design the most advanced technologies to purify and recycle water, state-of-the-art irrigation systems and most recently, 3D printed meat from harvested cells.

But leaving aside the technologies themselves, it is important to remark how they have been able to spread and transmit this spirit throughout generations, in such ways that it has shaped the country’s entrepreneurial mindset.

Our challenge in Mexico goes beyond installing and designing educational programs, which of course, are essential: we also need to absorb and transmit our everyday social, economic and political issues into our young population. In this way,  they will be able to assume these as problems of their own and spark their interest to find new solutions.  

Innovation and Adaptation 

Technological development is always accelerated when there is a crisis to overcome. A recent example are all the healthcare breakthroughs that occurred during the pandemic; innovation always plays a crucial role during troublesome situations.

Nevertheless, this  works both ways. As users or citizens, we also have to adapt to new technologies or practices developed by others who are solving a problem: going through airport security, using telecommunication platforms to work remotely and interacting with chatbots are now part of our everyday activities; we are also approaching a time where riding in self-driving cars or relating with AI will be as normal as the interactions mentioned above.

Educational programs must make students aware of this fast-changing landscape we are living in and guide them not only to adapt to it, but also to help them understand the societal demands so they can create innovative solutions themselves.

The Innovation Triangle

Israel has the most startups of any country in the world,  with the most engineers per capita and the second-highest amount of investment in R&D as a percentage of GDP. How have they accomplished this? They established a trilateral model formed by the government, the private sector and academia. These three working collectively have helped Israel create a new, efficient development engine.  

The government acts as a promoter and regulator, thrusting the local economy by investing in innovators that offer solutions to public issues. They even created the Israel Innovation Authority, a publicly funded agency that serves as a launch pad to innovative projects aimed at addressing local and international needs. 

Academia is the breeding ground. Universities have built state-of-the-art research centers and carry out research on the most relevant and current subjects. This is where both knowledge and entrepreneurs are created. Finally, the private sector, where the majority of these projects will perform, also supports emerging startups or innovators through investment, networking and other means.

In short, having knowledge of societal needs, promoting entrepreneurial solutions and providing the right tools are key for creating a prolific environment. 

Innovation Must Result in Positive Social Impact

Leaving aside futuristic technologies, what caused the biggest impact on me was the will of these innovators to improve people’s lives. While visiting ORCAM, it is not hard to be astonished by what they have created. One of their wearable optical devices assists people with low vision or visual impairments by reading texts from any book or screen and converting it to audio instantly.  

At the Municipal Innovation Centre, we found out how smart cities are using information and communication technologies to digitally manage municipal systems: transportation, sewage, public buildings, water; all are integrated into automated systems that allow municipalities to efficiently manage and maintain infrastructure and maintain contact with citizens.

As astonishing as all these projects and its creators are, what they all share is that they have a purpose and that results in a positive social impact. I truly believe that the huge effort we still have to make to provide tools, knowledge, funds and every other resource needed to create a productive innovation environment must prioritize improving people’s lives.

My experience in Israel has reaffirmed the importance of nurturing an innovative mindset, embracing adaptability, fostering collaboration between key players, and placing social impact at the core of our innovation efforts. By working together, and utilizing our strengths and knowledge, we can pave the way for a better future and transform the lives of individuals and communities. As a businessman, I firmly believe that investing in young people and empowering them to be the leaders of positive change will be instrumental in achieving these aspirations.