Every year, 15-20 fellows are selected from each university based on their intellectual curiosity, social commitment and leadership qualities. Participants come from all parts of Israeli society, including Jews and Arabs, religious and secular, and from across the socioeconomic and political spectrums.

The summer before their first year of undergraduate studies, participants embark on an intellectual journey that incorporates diverse learning tools and complex social subjects. Through interactive classroom studies, meeting social activists in the field, documentary film screenings and creativity-development workshops, the participants explore big ideas, such as freedom, revenge, reason, knowledge and morality. The learning continues into the night as fellows live in shared accommodation of cross-cultural groups. 

During the summer experience, each of the fellows writes a personal essay to develop their own perspectives on deep-seated social issues. Throughout their first academic year, the participants take part in monthly meetings devoted to the social impact of deep ideas. The students work in small groups to lead public engagement projects on campus that foster open discussion on their selected social issues. These initiatives have included public debates, podcast episodes, learning groups, cultural events and academic symposia.

The program has an engaged alumni community that continues to lead initiatives for both the network and the broader student body. Seventy percent of alumni remain actively involved, and although most are still students, 35% have initiated independent social projects or hold leadership roles. Notable alumni-led initiatives include (1) transforming a Hebrew University rooftop into an educational space with multilingual signage and audio guides showcasing diverse cultural narratives, and (2) organizing a three-day seminar for 40 peers on the personal and national significance of "home," particularly in times of conflict and war.

In the summer of 2018, the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute launched the first cycle of Intellectual Journeys. With a focus on diversity, students were selected from various social sectors, academic disciplines and universities. Three years later, recognizing that the program had developed a model that could maximize its impact by integrating into higher education establishments, the Institute partnered with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. As of 2024, Intellectual Journeys has also been implemented at Tel Aviv University and Ben Gurion University of the Negev.

The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute is a legally registered nonprofit organization in Israel (BN: 510691983). The U.S. Friends of the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute (EIN: 20-5813075) is a tax-exempt American 501(c)(3) charitable organization that acts as the Institute’s fundraising arm in the United States. To learn about opportunities to support Intellectual Journeys and other work at the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, please contact: Dr. Aviva Goller at avivag@vanleer.org.il, tel: +972-2-560-5235, fax: +972-2-561-9293.