Hey! AIESEC!

It is the largest student organization around the world. It has almost 90 member countries with more than 50 years of the history. It is an association presenting over 800 universities with approximately 18,000 members and nearly 1 million alumni worldwide. Thunderbird even provides the scholarships for its members. It is AIESEC (pronounced “eye-sek”).

The core activity that AIESEC provides is the International Traineeship Exchange Program (ITEP). This program “enables over 3,500 students and recent graduates the opportunities to live and work in another country”[1]. ITEP was built upon the vision that the understanding among mankind should be based on the interaction between different cultures. Through the internships in other countries, not only the participants but also the local communities will be benefited. Like a chain reaction, the impact can last and continue inspiring others.

The other day in CCC class, I thought about AIESEC, this great organization I have ever involved. A standardized framework called “Exchange Process” was defined by three steps: the preparation, the reception, and the reintegration. “Build as a model for developing and changing individuals whereby the process lasts from an individual’s first interaction with AIESEC until their life ends”[2]. In fact, these three elements work not only for AIESECer but also for any T-bird or expatriate.

The preparation stage is to help an individual obtain the skills, the knowledge, and the attitudes to change. AIESEC uses the Student Review Board to review and to facilitate individuals to adjust them into the foreign country. BaFaBaFa is always the first role play and the prerequisite for the candidates. The transformation begins as soon as they applied. The survival kits and the local contacts are available and compulsory. Interns have to read the material and to contact local AIESECers before they arrive. This process takes about 3 months prior to the reception. AIESEC from both countries (host and domain) help students ready for a positive change.

The reception takes place when the interns arrive. AIESEC helps them from the accommodation and the visa to the cultural adjustments and the company visit. This stage is to ensure the individuals have “a powerful experience” and “a positive change”. The physical exchange experience comes from interns’ daily lives, including their work and leisure time. They are invited to different community activities or AIESEC parties and sessions to interact with locals. Many tours or cultural events are designed for the locals and the trainees from various countries. Trainees may be from every corner of the globe. They help each other to transit the understanding and the practices about the local culture. This step is to ensure a positive impact to both of the trainees and the locals.

The most difficult part is the last one: the reintegration. As soon as the trainees come back, AIESEC ensures their transition to their home country effective. This stage is very challenging because what they go through is very different from their experience. It’s a life-long learning process. Everyone having ITEP becomes a change agent to his or her local environment. They are also involved in AIESEC events to share their cultural shocks and to help others ready for the incoming process. Even I am still going through the reintegration after my work in AIESEC.

Every T-bird is most likely a perfect example of the exchange process. We worked hard for our MBA application. Some prospective students come to the campus for the hospitality weekend to understand the school better. A series of preparation are essential to be granted the admission. After we arrive, the reception includes the school work, the cultural events, and our peer activities (or any time you go to the pub). Upon our graduation, the reintegration starts. Each of us is like a change agent. We are not about to change to world but to be trained as an individual with the values and the global mindset. The interaction between us and our local community is a chemical or chain reaction. The impacts are invisible but effective.

I still remembered the last international conference I attended as a National Committee President in Slovakia in 1998. At the closing, AIESEC International chose “Imagine” as the theme song. I suddenly had a deeper understanding about this organization. That’s why I like it so much and live with it. “You may say I’m a dreamer, but I am not the only one…”

Imagine

Imagine there's no heaven,

It's easy if you try,

No hell below us,

Above us only sky,

Imagine all the people

living for today...

Imagine there's no countries,

It isnt hard to do,

Nothing to kill or die for,

No religion too,

Imagine all the people

living life in peace...

Imagine no possesions,

I wonder if you can,

No need for greed or hunger,

A brotherhood of man,

Imagine all the people

Sharing all the world...

You may say Im a dreamer,

but Im not the only one,

I hope some day you'll join us,

And the world will live as one.

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[1] http://www.aiesec.org/

[2] http://aiesec.org.sg/globalexchange/process.html