Aish UK’s flagship student programme, ‘Genesis’, relaunched this week at university campuses across the country as the academic year restarted. Record numbers of students enjoyed special welcome BBQ events, with over 430 students attending in Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Liverpool and Nottingham.

The educational and social programme, which has already seen hundreds of applicants, will officially launch next week with an exclusive performance from Britain’s Got Talent finalists, Darren Sarsby and Andrew Murray, more commonly known as ‘DNA’. The mind-reading duo will be performing for students at Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds and Nottinghamuniversities.

Aish is currently active on six UK campuses with full time branches at four locations and programmes offered at six other universities.  Educational and social activities are delivered through the Genesis programme in addition to events and hospitality offered by a team of campus families. This year also saw the launch of ‘Genesis on Demand’ – an online learning platform which offers educational opportunities for students who don’t have a local Aish branch.

Director of Education, Rabbi Gideon Goldwater, commented,“After our biggest summer yet, with over 100 students participating in trips to Israel, South Africa and the USA, we are very excited at the unprecedented buzz surrounding this year’s innovative programme”.

Furthermore, the Aish UK centre in Hendon was once again buzzing with young people for the first time in many years last Tuesday as a group of 40 young professionals gathered for the launch of ‘@futures’ – Aish UK’s newest programme, under the creative and dynamic leadership of Rabbi Eli Birnbaum.

The fortnightly series of cutting-edge lectures explores the innovation reshaping our world in the 21st century, and how Judaism will play a part in the next chapter of our story. During each session, Aish UK will be offering young Jews the chance to hear from an intriguing line-up of eclectic speakers – the likes of whom have never before been offered a platform within the Jewish educational sphere. Last week the audience heard from Zoe Jackson MBE – a multi-award winning entrepreneur and founder of the performing arts company ‘Living the Dream’. Zoe spoke with passion about the millennial workforce and how start-ups are changing the face of global industry.

With over 75 young professionals already signed up, the new programme will alternate with a unique and thought-provoking educational track ‘@wisdom’, which launches this week. The first term will include a range of classes on topics including Jewish history, gender roles within Judaism, medical ethics and a Hebrew Ulpan. Aish will also be hosting series of social and networking events for young professionals as part of the new programme.

Programme participant Jonny Cartier remarked, “The team at Aish Young Professionals are setting the bar for ‘how to run a successful and enjoyable Jewish event’. I am looking forward to the rest of the series!”