Travel plans on a minimum budget

Interacting with students from different cultures, staying in a foreign country with people they have never met before, working on projects outside their domains — It’s going to be an exciting winter indeed for a group of students from the city. While others celebrate the holidays with family and friends, this group will fly off in different directions towards Egypt, China and Greece among other countries, as part of the International Internship Programme by Aiesec Hyderabad.

Aiesec member since 2011 and GRIET student Vaishnavi Reddy is off to Greece for a six-week internship beginning December 8. “I have hosted two interns earlier, but I’ve never been abroad or lived with a host family, so I’m excited about this trip,” she says.

Participants can opt for programmes lasting six months to a year, for which they even get paid, or choose four to six-week long internships. “I’m paying for my airline ticket and personal expenses but my accommodation and food will be taken care of. I will be spending around Rs 50,000. Students get selected based on their proficiency in spoken English. Earlier this year, 70 students from the city went on internships abroad. Students can still apply for the winter internships.”

St Peters Engineering College student Moiz Broachwala will spend his internship working with Aiesec Egypt and the tourism ministry, for which he will be trained in digital marketing when he gets there. “During my six-week stay in Egypt, I will be travelling to different places and taking photographs. At the end, we will compile a project for the tourism ministry,” says Moiz, who will be staying with other international students. “My expenses will be around Rs 30,000. I will also be reimbursed 50 per cent of the cost of my flight tickets. Interning abroad is not that expensive and the exposure that one gets is really valuable.”

Even the visa processing is done quickly, as Malla Reddy College student Fares Saleem shares, “I got my visa in two days. It’s very easy and Aiesec assists you through the entire procedure,” says Saleem, who taught English and elementary physics to Russian school kids in January.

Lavish Aggarwal, student of Bhavan’s College, worked at a social entrepreneurship and also served as a consultant for small companies in Indonesia. “I was there for 45 days and the exposure was very valuable,” he says.