Dubai summer surprises apprenticeship programme 2009 set for successful fourth edition
The Dubai Shopping Festival Office, organizers of Dubai Summer Surprises (DSS) is set to welcome some of the best and brightest young minds from 9 countries spanning the MENA region as participants in its award-winning Apprenticeship Programme.
The highly successful apprenticeship programme, now in its fourth year, will include a winner from the UAE for the first time to join other exceptional Business Administration and Marketing students from colleges in KSA, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Jordan, Qatar, Lebanon and Egypt, for a once in a lifetime opportunity to work on DSS – one of the biggest tourism success stories in the region.
Since its inception in 2006, the programme has grown from 4 participating universities in 2 countries, to include over 40 targeted universities and higher education institutions across 9 markets in the Middle East & North Africa in 2009. A further indicator of the programme’s success and value is the role it played as a major factor cited by the jury in awarding The Dubai Shopping Festival Office the Travel & Tourism Award at the 2008 IPRA Golden World Awards held in London last year.
As in past editions, universities and colleges have been invited to nominate 6 of their brightest senior students from the Marketing & Business Administration streams to participate in the selection process, which this year includes an essay writing component inviting students to share their ideas on how they would promote DSS in their local markets in light of the current economic crisis. A special jury comprising of key DSS staff and other marketing professionals will evaluate the applications and select one winner from each country to represent his or her country in the programme.
Each winning student will receive flights to Dubai and accommodation at Qamardeen Hotel, operated by Southern Sun, and conveniently situated in Downtown Burj Dubai. The winners will work closely with the DSS team throughout their two-week internship, gaining valuable training and exposure to best practices in business administration, marketing and events management in a real-life situation, executing campaign strategies and working directly on one of the biggest tourist and commercial events in the world. The DSS Apprenticeship Programme will also present winners with a unique and valuable opportunity to establish a great network of potential future employers and corporate mentors.
“We are very pleased to announce the launch of our fourth consecutive edition of this award-winning program. The winners from the 9 participating countries will get the chance to broaden their horizons, deepen their knowledge of their degree programs, and gain insights that will bring theories discussed in class to life by working on a fun and exciting event like DSS,” said Laila Suhail, CEO of the Dubai Shopping Festival Office. “The students will be interacting with a shopping and entertainment extravaganza that welcomes families and individuals from different nations to experience Dubai’s warm hospitality and unrivalled festival atmosphere during the summer months. Hence, they will gain the experience that will greatly add value to their career in the future”.
Universities are currently submitting their student nominees in the first phase of the selection process. The jury will select winners based on the quality of their essays and their completion of required documents, as well as their character, ambition, energy, and potential to make a valuable contribution to the continual enhancement of DSS.
