Building Ventures, Taking Risks, Shaping the Future: BGU’s Yazamut 360°
Building Ventures, Taking Risks, Shaping the Future: BGU’s Yazamut 360°
April 23, 2026
Current events, Negev Development & Community Programs
BGU’s Yazamut 360° co-founders, Prof. Carmel Sofer and Dana Gavish
The Jerusalem Post- At Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU), innovation is not confined to the classroom—it is actively lived through Yazamut 360°, a dynamic entrepreneurship center co-founded by Prof. Carmel Sofer and Dana Gavish.
As highlighted by The Jerusalem Post, the program was built to bridge the gap between academic theory and real-world application, immersing students in hands-on experiences that prepare them for today’s evolving job market. Gavish underscores this approach: “We still need to know how to research. But it’s not enough anymore. We must add another layer. A practical, experiential one. You cannot just learn entrepreneurship in theory. You have to go through it.” This philosophy drives a culture where students are encouraged to take risks, test ideas, and learn through action.
What distinguishes Yazamut 360° is its emphasis on transformation over traditional metrics of success. Rather than focusing solely on startup output, the program centers on student growth and capability. This model reframes entrepreneurship as a mindset. Gavish explains, “Our KPI is not how many startups we launch…our real question is: What happens to our students? Do they dare more? Do they build networks? Do they feel capable?” Thousands of students voluntarily participate each year, gaining experience through uncertainty, iteration, and failure in an environment where, as she puts it, “It’s okay to fail here.”
The center’s most audacious experiment is Cactus Capital, a student-run venture capital fund seeded with one million dollars from the University, a sum unprecedented in Israeli academia at the time. Today, the fund is nearing the end of its second million; a third has already been promised.
“When I understood we had a million dollars to invest in student ventures,” Gavish recalls, “I asked myself: If we are an educational institution, what are we teaching by simply giving out money?” Her answer was to hand the money to students, not as recipients, but as investors.
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