In October, the fourth Progressive Economy Course was commenced in Tel Aviv and in Jerusalem. Each of the two groups targeted in this exclusive project, which is operated by the Social Economic Academy and the Berl Katznelson Foundation, consists of 31 socially engaged economy students at Israel’s leading universities.
The course participants meet weekly for workshops, lectures and project work, where they are exposed to content they would not learn during their regular studies: progressive approaches to modern economic and social policies in contradiction to predominantly neoliberal theories, which students are taught at Israeli universities. This enables students to question the content of their universities’ regular curriculum and enriches the standard curriculum.
At the core of the course, however, are the internships in the public sector. During these internships with ministries and municipalities, the participants develop solutions for existing problematic situations in close cooperation with their mentors. Their consulting assignments have often been very successful and have, in the past, led to the employment of course graduates at their place of internship.
