The School of Social Sciences and Humanities celebrates a decade

Prof. Sibylle Heilbrunn, Dean of School of Social Sciences and Humanities:          

The School of Social Sciences and Humanities is comprised of seven departments from diverse disciplines that award undergraduate degrees and three graduate degrees.

The school’s vision is based on three principles: To provide students with a high level of education, to equip students with skills to cope with 21^st century challenges, and to develop students into diverse citizens. The academic staff consists of a combination of exceptional researchers and professionals from industry, who teach by applying innovative teaching methods suitable for the diverse student populations who require a great deal of effort in order to succeed in their studies. The academic faculty prepare students to achieve high academic standards practiced in the school, and for outstanding students we established a unique interdisciplinary program. In order for students to be successful in a dynamic and challenging professional world, in the academic arena both in Israel and abroad and within a complex society, we equip students with skills essential in each area including interpersonal skills, conflict management, coping with stress and burnout, emotional-social development and advanced research methodologies. In addition, English courses in collaboration with students from abroad. During their studies, students are exposed to multiculturalism and the complexity of Israeli society, which we see as both a challenge and a lever for creativity and innovation. This exposure forms the foundation for encouraging students to develop diverse citizenship, and to promote justice and social equality within society.

Maya Ram, Head of School of Social Sciences and Humanities:

1. This year marks the tenth anniversary of the School of Social Sciences and Humanities, and a number of events will be held. The capstone event will be the graduation ceremony at the end of the academic year. We will distribute a book with highlights about activities and developments over the past decade, and what to expect for the next decade.

It is certainly something to look forward to!

2. Alumni Wall – We are designing an alumni wall at the entrance to the Beit Achi building, where alumni will be displayed. We are very proud of our graduates who have integrated into the workforce in fields related to their degree of study, and of those who have pursued a doctorate. We want to display their success and growth.
3. We developed the Rimonim Excellence Program – students who participate in the program can gain up to 20 credit points.

This unique program is designed for exceptional students who are interested in expanding their academic education, and acquiring tools for further studies. The aim of the program is to offer participants diverse methods of thinking and research in the fields of social sciences and humanities for ideal integration into graduate degrees, and expanding into various other fields of study. As part of the program, students are introduced to international academic activities and meetings with students from academic institutions around the globe. The program includes activities on and off campus, unique tours, and encounters and cultural activities.

4. As part of our three graduate programs, and in light of the unique needs of students studying in a focused framework of one full day a week, we have designated an international virtual classroom that is technologically equipped and organized for morning-to-evening student study.
5. We are continuing to recruit students and to expand our activity with the new HaShomer HaChadash program Ma’ahal V’Migdal, which is located in Kibbutz Beit Zera. We introduce young adults who have recently completed their military or national service to academic material taught by outstanding college lecturers, and also incorporate marketing information into the meetings, accompanied by a Student Union representative, who talks about the student experience and answers further questions.

 

Undergraduate Departments:

 

Department of Tourism and Hotel Management

 

1. As part of the Erasmus+ student exchange program, four students began a semester of study abroad, in Vilnius Kolegija, Lithuania. They began their studies online due to the closures and lockdown of Ben Gurion Airport.
2. Over the Passover holiday, a group of about 20 students from the department traveled to Eilat to work at Isrotel hotels, an integral and unique collaboration with the chain. This is an extraordinary opportunity for our students to set foot in this hotel chain, gain important employment experience in the tourism field, and experience working in the number one tourist city in Israel.

 

Department of Human Resources Management

 

1. Students and faculty in the Department of Human Resource Management took part in the National Human Resources Conference, annually attended by leading organizations such as Amdocs, IAI, the Bank of Israel, and many other diverse organizations. As part of the annual competition, the department received a certificate of appreciation for a business game, developed within the department and currently used as a tool to teach in three departments at the school.
2. During the second semester, we held the department ‘peak week’ – a week filled with practical workshops by means of applied and diverse learning methods.

 

Department of Behavioral Sciences

 

1. The Department of Behavioral Sciences is preparing to implement a new curriculum for the 2021-2022 academic year, which will include three specialization divisions that will award students certification certificates. The three divisions were developed through the broad and diverse behavioral sciences academic infrastructure: Applied Positive Psychology Division with an emphasis on mindfulness (MBSR approach), a Decision Making and Mediation Division, and an Applied Organizational Sociology Division. Thus, expanding the possibilities of admission into graduate degrees in the fields of behavioral sciences (psychology, educational and organizational counseling, behavioral analysis, sociology, and anthropology), specialized studies in the divisions will enable direct connection between academia and the world of employment.
2. This year, for the first time, the outstanding students in the Department of Behavioral Sciences are taking a dedicated course, part of the Department’s Outstanding Program. The aim of this unique course is to deepen the theoretical and research knowledge required for admission into graduate degree programs in the behavioral sciences. In addition, as part of the course, the outstanding students will be introduced to research conducted by members of faculty, and during their third year, will be integrated as research assistants.

 

Department of Land of Israel Studies

 

The Department of Land of Israel Studies is growing – especially in the spring – with two brand new courses!!!

 

1. Shelly-Ann Peleg, an expert in the preservation of buildings, complexes and handicrafts, will take students on a fascinating and extraordinary journey following the ancient and forgotten handicrafts of the Land of Israel, which almost disappeared from the landscape entirely during the last century: food preparation, clothing, early industry, and many other components of life that previous generations relied on.
2. Reuven Gafni will travel with students on a three-day research campus, viewing synagogues of Eretz Israel in modern periods: architecture, design, commemoration, prayer, community, ideological deliberations, and quite a bit about current affairs. All this – in a capacity that is religious, social, as well as ideological.

 

Department of Education and Community         

 

1. The Department of Education and Community has put in the forefront the development of 21^st century skills as a method to prepare students for success and involvement in a dynamic world, and to develop next generation skills. The curriculum is intertwined with dedicated courses such as emotional-social intelligence, interpersonal skills, creative thinking, cross-cultural sensitivity and techno-pedagogy; skill development is intertwined with learning in various courses, and teaching and assessment methods, and is an integral part of the department’s culture.
2. Acquiring professional certificates as part of the degree is a way to increase students’ value and toolbox. The department incorporates certificates into the curriculum for group facilitators in collaboration with the Adler Institute, and a certificate of social process facilitators and bullying prevention in collaboration with the Matzmichim

 

Department of Multidisciplinary Studies

 

The Department of Multidisciplinary Studies faculty research workshop will return to activity during the second semester, and will include three meetings in which department faculty members will present their research with the participation of researchers from other universities. The research topics that will be presented during the various sessions are: Life expectancy in Arab society (Dr. Matan Markowitzky); Hebrew relationships in the Hebrew press during the Mandate period (Dr. Orit Yael); Conceptual Ambiguity in Coding the Categories of Peace Agreement and Peace Process (Dr. Yoav Kapshuk); and Israeli views on Diaspora Jews (Dr. Ofir Abu).

The research workshop coordinator is Dr. Naomi Levenkron.

 

Department of Communication

 

1. Strengthening the Kol Kinneret radio team with a new and fresh look for radio: As part of the department’s strategy to connect communication students to communication activities throughout their degree, through networking and activity with leading media personalities, many additions have been made to the communication department this year. The radio team at Kol Kinneret 106FM has been joined by radio personality and radio broadcaster Harel Slutsky, who works as the radio director alongside Shir Brontman, the broadcasting director, Benny Brown, the program director, and Alon Eisner, the technical director. Two new radio programs have been added to the communication students’ broadcasting repertoire: a radio magazine, every Wednesday at noon, led by Slutsky alongside Ofir Cohen, a sophomore, and other students. And the music program Rock in the Puddle led by Shir Brontman, director of broadcasting, in conjunction with first-year communication students, who join the broadcast and learn about creating media through practical experience.
2. New course ‘Communication Meetings’: A departmental course connecting students and lecturers in the department, a weekly meeting with leading figures, shaping and influencing discourse in media through various platforms. Each meeting is dedicated to a different topic within the rich and diverse communication world, revealing perspectives on communication activity within Israeli society, culture and politics. During the first semester, the course was led by: Danny Kushmaro, Aluf Benn, Furat Nassar, Zuhair Bahaloul, Sharon Rofe-Ofir, Daniel Syrkin, and others.
3. Third year project in the ‘Social Campaign Planning’ course led by Dr. Gitit Bar-On: Third year students with a focus on multi-channel marketing, are currently working on three projects: a campaign to help small businesses set up digital platforms in order to strengthen their digital marketing capabilities; a campaign for the preservation of the environment at Maayan Ein Moda and Nahal Hakibbutzim, which are part of the Spring Valley Park – Park HaMaayanot, located in the Beit She’an Valley; and a campaign to save thousands of abandoned dogs in danger of euthanasia because of overcrowding in dog shelters. Dr. Gitit Bar-On, Marketing Consultant and Lecturer in the Department of Communication, explains, “The purpose of the project is to enable students to experience the process of planning and executing a campaign. This year it was especially important for students to offer added value and to contribute to society. The subjects chosen come from their heart. We all hope to succeed in making a real and meaningful change through action, where everyone benefits: society, animals and the environment.”

 

Graduate Degrees

 

M.A. in Behavior Analysis

During the 2020-2021 academic year, the M.A. in Behavior Analysis program, led by Prof. Amos Rolider, opened its doors for the first time in Israel.

The 45 students of the first year are currently successfully completing their first semester, and the academic staff is already preparing for the next academic year, to which the program is expected to expand.

 

M.A. in Land of Israel Studies

1. Departmental Seminar – a course taught by Dr. Yaakov Ashkenazi aimed at exposing M.A. students to the field of research about Israel, while getting acquainted with various disciplines within it through a variety of learning tools. The seminar topic is ‘Text and Context’. The methodology is ‘saw and accomplished’. That is, students are exposed to a ‘laboratory’ of scholars from various areas of Israel research, historians, geographers, archaeologists, anthropologists and art scholars. Each presents to students his/her research based on text analysis (for that matter, a text does not have to be a written document but can also be any kind of material presentation), and the context related to it. Students learn and apply this methodology in an independent contextual study from a text of their choice.

We believe that this type of study clearly conveys the goals of the M.A. degree.

 

2. Research Campus ‘Jerusalem – Capital of the British Government’, taught by Giora Goodman, examines the special status of Jerusalem during the Mandate period. The campus where students study, research and exhibit works around the city, examines the institutions of British rule as well as the influence of Britain on the urban, demographic and cultural growth of the city between 1918 and 1948. In addition, the campus examines the challenge posed by the Arab and Jewish communities in Jerusalem to British rule, both through ethnic tensions and their violent action against the Mandate regime itself, during times of rebellion and disobedience.

 

M.A. in Tourism and Hotel Management                  

Global leadership in academia and industry by guest lectures in the ‘Tourism and Globalization’ seminar as part of the International English M.A. program in the Department of Tourism and Hotel Management at Kinneret Academic College

As part of Dr. Alon Gelbman’s ‘Tourism and Globalization’ seminar in the International English Master’s Degree Program in the Department of Tourism and Hospitality Management, a tradition in recent years developed in which leading management and tourism hotels and academics from around the world and Israel have visited to guest lecture. Students are offered the opportunity to learn from key figures in global tourism and the hotel industry, who present current data including productive discussions to deepen their learning experience. During the previous semester, the lecturers who took part included: Mr. Tal Shefer, VP of the Hilton chain, which is the largest in the world, exposed students to how the chain developed, its branding patterns in recent years, and its strategies for coping with the COVID crisis around the world. Mr. Assaf Goren, CEO of Issta, Israel’s largest tourism company, presented the company’s global activity profile around the world and in Israel, and the company’s new technological revolutions in response to management challenges of the post-COVID era. Ms. Sara Slansky, Manager of Public Relations at the Ministry of Tourism, spoke about the Ministry of Tourism’s global system of branding and marketing tourism to Israel, and their coping mechanisms during the COVID era. Prof. Sascha Krannich from the University of Giessen in Germany, presented global aspects of immigration, global mobility and tourism, and in his lecture presented case studies from various countries in which he specialized. Each lecture had rewarding discussions under the guidance of course lecturer, Dr. Alon Gelbman, and the data and presentations were made available to the students as part of the course materials.

On the subject of international connections, which will help realize the Master Degree in English program’s full potential, we made great strides in agreements with institutions abroad.

A cooperation agreement was signed with the University of Milan, IULM. The first phase will include a semester student exchange, an academic staff exchange in the form of guest lectures, and joint research. The second phase will include a joint curriculum planned for the MA in Tourism and Hotel Management, for the duration of two years, and which will be studied for one year at each institution. Graduates will be awarded two degrees, one from the University of Milan and one from Kinneret Academic College. The University of Milan currently takes part in two such joint programs, one with the University of Central Florida focusing on the topics of hotel and event management, and the other with the University of France on the topics of tourism and the environment. The University of Milan has tourism cooperation agreements with universities from around the world, a factor with potential to integrate Kinneret into the international arena.

A cooperation agreement is underway with Hoa Sen University (HSU), Vietnam.  A private and prestigious university in Ho Chi Minh City, with a Faculty of Tourism with seven various undergraduate tracks and a total of about 1600 students. Most of the tracks are taught in Vietnamese, but there are programs in English. All tracks and curricula are only for undergraduate degrees. The agreed upon agreement covers the topics: one semester student exchange, guest lecture exchange, and M.A. studies in Tourism and Hotel Management at Kinneret Academic College for undergraduates from HSU who studied in English.

The Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management (EAHM) in Dubai cooperation opportunity. The curriculum in the Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management focuses on hotels, and lacks basic business courses in tourism management. Therefore, during the first phase, they are interested in guest lectures to be given by our M.A. program lecturers on these topics. During the current spring semester, a number of our lecturers have already lectured online, with an option to travel there.

The Geographical Association of Belarus was recently contacted. A prestigious association, which is interested in collaborating with the college on tourism and the environment. The connection was developed following a joint activity with Prof. Hezi Israeli in Belarus, in research, organization of conferences, and advanced training and consulting. The association is interested in signing an agreement with the college.