IAESTE Malta: An affiliation between industry and the student

Last year, IAESTE Malta offered 40 Maltese students the opportunity to go abroad on a traineeship - thereby making it the largest student exchange programme of its kind in Malta.

Siemens, Imperial College, Nokia, the BBC, Novartis, Kuhn, Petersen and Fox and Ove Arup are but a few of the companies the Maltese IAESTE trainee has worked for.

The exchange programme it operates is to the benefit of students as well as the organisations offering traineeships. This is exemplified by the strong contacts it has managed to achieve around the globe with no fewer than 5,000 participating employers and educational institutions.

IAESTE, the International Association for the Exchange of Students for Technical Experience, is a non-profit organisation that exchanges traineeships for students reading for degrees in institutes of higher learning.

As an internationally recognised association, it has members in 83 countries. Locally, albeit being run by University students alone, it generates the highest number of jobs per capita from all the member countries - a fact that has earned it a very good reputation overseas.

The summer months may have come and gone quickly but the IAESTE Malta team is all set for another successful year! In addition to the annual activities, such as the IAESTE treasure hunt, IAESTE Malta is interested in hosting the annual IAESTE conference in 2006.

During this closed conference, representatives from around 200 member countries attend to exchange traineeships. An organising committee has already been formed, and preparations are under way to make a bid next January in Vienna. The team consists of both current and ex-National Committee members.

The months of October and November are dominated by job raising. For every job offered by a Maltese supporting institution, a Maltese student gets the opportunity to go on a traineeship abroad. This is a unique experience as it allows the student to gain practical experience in his field of study, while inevitably experiencing a different culture and way of life.

The Maltese employer lays down the requirements and qualifications the trainee must have, and IAESTE will nominate a suitable student for the job offer. The curriculum vita of the nominated student is forwarded to the employer for consideration and approval. This ensures that all trainees are competent for the job required.

Many companies who employ IAESTE trainees reserve special projects for them. This may include working on a new service, improving and optimising machines in production lines or writing new software. In this way, both the company and the trainee get maximum benefit from the traineeship. Visas and work permits are handled by the IAESTE Malta team.

Throughout the year, IAESTE team members continuously deal with companies. IAESTE Malta mainly comes into close contact with university students; however, this market bracket does not solely include Maltese students as much as it does graduates and under-graduates from all over the world.

Maltese companies of a related field could easily make the most of these international good relations, while helping the Maltese student further his studies, by providing funds that would assist IAESTE Malta in improving its service to the University community. Any form of assistance would be appreciated greatly.

Seventeen companies have offered IAESTE traineeships in Malta this year. Thanks to their support a substantial number of Maltese graduates and undergraduates were able to gain from an IAESTE traineeship. IAESTE Malta would also like to thank the Malta Tourism Authority, Air Malta, OnVol and Compleet IS Services for their continuous support.

Interested employers, as well as potential sponsors, are invited to contact Annemarie Mayo for more details on info@iaeste.org.mt.

If you're a student and have not applied yet we shall still be considering late applications. Visit us at the Faculty of Engineering, between noon and 2 p.m. www.iaeste.org.mt

James E. Reid is general secretary, IAESTE.