Christina Reh, a visiting student pursuing a Business Certification at Columbia University’s School of Professional Studies, was invited to take part at DLD Tel Aviv Innovation Conference 2015 as a winner of a digital case study competition on the topic “Wearables in 2020.”
She said she "felt very honored” to attend the conference, which is billed as Israel’s largest international high-tech gathering, featuring hundreds of startups, venture capitalists, angel investors, and leading multinational organizations. For three days, Reh attended innovation panels that featured speakers including the chief technical officer of Amazon, international startup founders, and other impressive leaders. Her takeaway was that “knowledge-sharing and a professional network where you can exchange thoughts, ideas and give and get help and support are key for every business,” a fact becoming increasingly true as the world becomes “more and more interconnected, digitalized, and dependent on intangible knowledge.”
At Columbia, Reh is drawing inspiration from her conference experience for her research paper in the Managing Information and Knowledge course, as well as for her own startup idea. “I am working on it now in the course Developing and Implementing New Ideas, where I learn important tools to be able to successfully launch it later,” she says.
Reflecting on her ideas on the importance of knowledge-sharing and innovation in business, she says that “the opportunity to study in an international business-hub like NYC gives me the unique possibility to build this important international network” and that “I learn a lot here at Columbia, not only from my professors, but also from my fellow students, and the journey we are all taking together is very delighting.”
