We are excited to announce that the Innovation Program is now the Innovation & Synagogue Engagement Program, and has launched an additional Certificate in Jewish Innovation.
Our goal is to launch, along with every rabbinical student, those new ideas that will dramatically improve Jewish life worldwide.
In that spirit, PRS offers alongside its academic offerings this two-year learning, doing and reflecting experience called the Innovation & Synagogue Engagement Program. We mentor students through the process of developing their Jewish projects, be they non-profit, for profit, artistic, commercial or technological in nature. Students may also opt to work on intrepreneurship, focusing on how to make their existing organizations better. Through online courses, curated videos, reading and podcasts, mentorship and more, we help students turn their passions into projects, and projects into realities.
The launch of each student’s project, whether it is within a pre-existing organization or is something entirely new, acts as the thesis of their rabbinical learning. PRS then continues its relationship with past students to help them continue to grow their projects to their maturity.
A first-hand take on what makes the innovation program special
Learning: Innovation Courses
The Innovation Program integrates core topics including…
- Introduction to Innovation
- Idea Development & Testing
- Marketing and Sales Essentials
- Pitch Practice: Homelitics For Business
- Essentials of Revenue Generation and Finance
- Basics of Administration & Team Building
- Web and Technology For Jewish Professionals
- Independent Study & Final Project Mentorship
Doing: Building Your Jewish Project
The knowledge gained from the Innovation Program courses will inevitably help students iterate and optimize their projects. While our academic learning focuses heavily on writing papers and test taking, the Innovation & Synagogue Engagement Program encourages students to take their learning public by building their projects for the world to see. Through successes as well as failing their way forward, students will gain the confidence to manage their for-profit and non-profit projects in the future.
Reflect: Working With Your Mentor
While the courses within Innovation are standardized, the mentorship provided alongside the development of student projects and the programmed learning turns the abstract concepts of idea creation and implementation into practical decisions for students’ projects. Rabbi Patrick Beaulier serves as a mentor to the PRS Innovation & Synagogue Engagement Program students as needed.
About Your Mentor
Rabbi Patrick Beaulier Rabbi Patrick Beaulier is the Executive Director and President of the Board for PunkTorah, the parent organization of Darshan Yeshiva and Pluralistic Rabbinical Seminary. For his role at Pluralistic Rabbinical Seminary, Rabbi Patrick is Director of Innovation, focusing on helping students prepare for their rabbinic careers. Rabbi Patrick is also the co-spiritual leader of Kehillah, a pop-up Jewish community in Richmond, VA. Rabbi Patrick received his smicha from Rabbinical Seminary International and his Bachelor of Science with a focus on Business Administration from the City University of Seattle. Rabbi Patrick developed the Innovation & Synagogue Engagement Program in 2020 and is now the educator for Homiletics and Practical Rabbinics. |