The Ones to Watch: Desautels Hot Cities of the World Tour

This coming Reading Week, forty-five Desautels students will be taking part in life changing experiences in either South Africa or Israel.

As part of McGill's "5 Hot Cities of The World Tour"; thirty MBA and undergraduate students will be traveling to South Africa and meeting with government officials, business executives and community leaders as they visit the beautiful cities of Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth.

Students traveling to South Africa will receive 3 credits for the ten-day trip, which includes mandatory pre-departure assignments and a final reflection paper upon their return.

Bronfmanites heading to the Rainbow Country have also added a philanthropic twist to their experience. For the second consecutive year, students participating in the Hot Cities Of The World tour have launched a very ambitious fundraising goal of $20,000. They intend to reach their objective by leveraging a variety of social media tools over the course of their 10-day excursion. The proceeds will be given to the Ubuntu Education Fund, a community institution in Port Elizabeth that supports vulnerable children along the pathway out of poverty by providing essential health and educational services.

When International Business major, Chase Potter, returned to McGill from an unforgettable internship in Israel this past summer, he was baffled by how few investment-savvy students knew so little of their global surroundings. Known for having the highest number of high-tech start-ups per capita, the small country of 7 million people attracts as much venture capital as France and Germany combined while Tel Aviv has rapidly become one of the world's most vibrant entrepreneurial hot spots.

Following his experience in Israel, Chase then reached out to Kyra Azzopardi, MUS VP Academic, who was convinced that a reading week trip to Israel was an absolute must after having read Dan Senor's Start-up Nation: The Story of Israel's Economic Miracle...

Read full article: The Bull & Bear, February 15, 2012