Aluma has been running Zarkor (“Spotlight”) since 2022. This national program targets young graduates of the ultra-Orthodox education system. Zarkor operates nationwide, offering young people guidance and assessments before they apply for studies, preparatory courses, skills workshops, personal support throughout their studies and connections to employment opportunities — both during study and after graduation.

Teneh is a government scholarship program for graduates of the ultra-Orthodox education system pursuing a bachelor’s or master’s degree at universities and colleges in Israel. Recognizing that financial stability is key to dropout prevention and academic success, the program awards scholarships as part of a broader support package, complementing the personal and professional support offered by the Zarkor program.

This pre-academic preparatory program has been running at Hebrew University since 2024, including pre-preparatory and preparatory tracks for graduates of the ultra-Orthodox education system. Designed to build a solid foundation of knowledge and study skills before the students begin their university studies, the program offers full tuition coverage, a monthly living stipend, free dormitory housing, individual and group support, academic tutoring, a psychometric prep course and personal development workshops.

This comprehensive support program for students who have left ultra-Orthodox society is offered at the Technion, Tel Aviv University, Hebrew University, Ben-Gurion University and the Open University. It includes tuition funding, personal and academic support, professional individual tutoring and group sessions that provide a supportive space for questions of belonging, identity and life skills — building resilience throughout the students’ academic journey.

This program supports ex-Haredi university students during their studies and until they find work that matches their education. The program runs in all Council for Higher Education-recognized universities and colleges. It provides personal and group support through workshops and lectures, and helps students navigate challenges, advocate for themselves, and access scholarships, mentoring programs and internships, as well as preparing them for the job market ahead of graduation.

The Professional Forum for Student Retention Management is an initiative of the Edmund de Rothschild Foundation and Aluma, operating with the support of the former. Retention management in academia is a growing professional field that requires up-to-date knowledge, continuous learning and broad collaboration among institutions. The Professional Forum of Aluma in Academia develops retention management and creates a national professional community of leaders in higher education working to reduce dropout rates and increase the numbers of graduating students. As a platform for peer learning and sharing national and global knowledge, the Forum encourages coordination, collaboration, exploration of different models and development of shared professional standards. Through its ongoing activity, the program contributes to building knowledge and improving institutional capacity to address retention challenges at scale. The Forum is building a thriving professional community through learning sessions and conferences for sharing knowledge and experience.

Dropout prevention is a systemic challenge across all of higher education. It requires institutional leadership, data-driven decision-making and collaboration among stakeholders. The Aluma in Academia support program is designed to strengthen institutional capabilities and systems for managing student retention, and to enable academic institutions to drive systemic change in lowering dropout rates and increasing student success rates. As part of the program, Aluma supports academic institutions in developing models, tools and mechanisms that systematically analyze retention data, establish early-detection mechanisms for at-risk students, develop personalized support, and improve coordination among management, academic units and support services. To date, this model has been implemented at a number of academic institutions across the country, with units that received the intervention recording a reduction of approximately 30% in dropout rates between first and second year. These successes led to the expansion of the initiative and its implementation to an additional cohort of institutions, drawing on the accumulated knowledge and experience. Supported by the Edmond de Rothschild Foundation, the program offers professional and financial support as well as a dedicated grant for strengthening institutional infrastructure.

Hesegim for Tech is a dedicated program preparing young people from Israel’s social and geographic periphery for academic studies in STEM. Established as part of a government resolution in 2014, the program ran until 2026. Hesegim was run by Aluma in collaboration with leading academic institutions including Bar-Ilan University, Ben-Gurion University and the Technion. The program was designed for high-potential young people who do not meet standard admission requirements and lack financial means. Participants received comprehensive support that included one-on-one guidance, living stipends, tuition waivers, academic counseling, vocational training, and personal and professional development workshops — all grounded in the view that making academia accessible reduces disparities and expands opportunities. Hesegim for Tech is proof of Aluma’s ability to develop and run large-scale programs in collaboration with public and academic systems, and to bring high-potential talent into demanding academic programs.

Academia+ was an initiative focused on lowering dropout rates among STEM students, with an emphasis on computer science and information systems degrees. It helped hundreds of university and college students from all sectors, providing ongoing support throughout their studies with the aim of improving retention rates and helping students succeed. The program used a unique social impact bond model, developed in collaboration with Social Finance Israel (SFI) and the Edmund de Rothschild Foundation. Using this model, early investment in support resources improved students’ self-efficacy and chances of staying the course, while generating measurable social and economic value. A dedicated academic motivation assessment tool was developed for the initiative (SMA: Self-Motivated Assessment) and used for data-driven decision-making. The assessment was shown to be a reliable tool for predicting dropout risk. The model’s implementation has demonstrated the value of tailored academic support: Dropout rates were reduced by 30%, with 80% of program graduates successfully finding jobs in tech — a figure that speaks to long-term personal, social and economic impact.