SCOPUS

HU in the Community
ASPER-HUJI Innovate
Smartphone Lessons for Seniors
Kinoko-Tech:
A Zero Waste Protein Source
With backgrounds spanning plant science, microbiology,
and food science, Jasmin Ravid, Dr. Daria
Feldman, and Hadar Shohat were perfectly poised
to invent an alternative source of protein when they
founded their startup, Kinoko-Tech.
The trio came together around Feldman’s idea to
develop a platform and method for growing mycelia
for use in food production. They have developed a
zero-waste method for growing a complete protein,
with nutritional values on par with animal protein.
In 2019 they completed ASPER-HUJI Innovate’s preaccelerator
program, OPEN AgFood.
Looking forward, Kinoko has secured initial seed
money and plans on registering their method as a
patent. This will enable them to scale-up production
and begin approaching food manufacturers in Israel
and abroad.
“
ASPER-HUJI Innovate was
precisely the push we needed
to realize our idea and bring
it into fruition.
”
Jasmin Ravid, CEO
Gabi Arnovitz studies economics and business administration
at the Hebrew University. A few years ago,
he began bringing together student volunteers and
seniors for smartphone lessons, and participated
in the first cohort of ASPER-HUJI Innovate’s
entrepreneurial program, OPEN Social. He joined
forces with Uriel Shuraki, who was teaching similar
classes in community centers, and David Suraqui – to
begin developing a startup.
Not surprisingly, when in-person classes were cancelled
due to the Coronavirus, demand for their service skyrocketed.
Within ten days of advertising, 600 seniors
had signed up for their digital course. By late May
they had 1,700 students and by November the number
had exceeded 2,200 participants. Nine months into
the pandemic, they continue to create new lessons on
a weekly basis. Cumulatively, their lessons have been
viewed over 120,000 times! The course is offered free
of charge.
Most participants were already familiar with WhatsApp,
thus making the app a convenient medium for the
message. Instructional videos are delivered daily – the
seniors need only to hit play, watch, and learn! Each
3-8-minute lesson focuses on a particular function of
their smartphones or social platforms, such as adjusting
the volume, forwarding images, silencing groups, the
flashlight, various apps, and more.
They also began holding weekly Zoom sessions, both to
teach seniors how to use the program and as a forum to
support their learning. The meetings were such a success
that they began providing additional content, such as a
lecture on fake news, which 176 people attended.
This project was the first to be awarded a 5,000 NIS
grant from ASPER-HUJI Innovate and the Student
Union, in response to a call for proposals that
employed technology to alleviate loneliness caused by
social distancing.
Arnovitz, Shuraki, and Suraqui are fully committed
to keeping the basic program free of charge, while
continuing to develop brand name recognition. They
recently completed their first paid, online course –
using Facebook.
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