Hi-Tech Israel

Well it's been a few days since my last post and the Smith team has been as busy as ever! After a relaxing weekend, we departed Haifa before sunrise on Tuesday for the drive down to Jerusalem to participate in the 2010 High Tech Industry Association Conference.

The conference, which ran for two days, was held at the Jerusalem International Convention Center and brought together industry professionals, technology experts, and venture capitalists. Starting at 9AM, the event kicked off with Israel's Mister of Finance, Dr. Yuval Steinitz, as well as other honored dignitaries remotely starting the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.

"The opening bell of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange"
Photo by Stephen Kushner

Topics covered during the conference ranged from the future of mobile computing to strategies for market entry into high-tech in China and India. Additionally, there were a number of headline speakers during the two day event including, the godfather of Israeli high-tech venture capital, Yossi Vardi, and Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

"Prime Minister Netanyahu talks about Israel's technology future"
Photo by Stephen Kushner

During the two day event, the Smith team had an amazing opportunity to hear from key thought leaders in Israel's high-tech and investment community. Given our ongoing tech commercialization projects at the Technion, some of the contacts we made and presentations we heard had an immediate and practical resonance. Other speakers we saw were interesting more from a general professional development standpoint.

"The Smith team at the hi-tech conference"
Photo by Stephen Kushner

Given the compressed schedule during the two days in Jerusalem, we didn't have too much time to explore outside the conference. That being said, we did get a brief tour of the Old City (courtesy of the conference organizers) on Tuesday night - where we were to have a preview of the Festival of Lights (which was unfortunately canceled due to technical difficulties). We met our guide just outside the Jaffa Gate and then walked past the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, ending at a rooftop overlooking the Wailing Wall. Really impressive!

"Steve captures the Western Wall at night"
Photo by Stephen Kushner

On Wednesday night, after the end of the conference, the team met on Ben Yehuda Street - one of the more popular shopping streets in Jerusalem. We spent about an hour shopping and window gazing. Afterwords, we walked up to Sami's restaurant for a final dinner before hitting the road back to Haifa. 

"The team enjoys an amazing schwarma dinner in Jerusalem" 
Photo by Stephen Kushner

All in all, it was a very successful two days in Jerusalem! We'll be heading back for a more historical and culturally centered visit tomorrow.