Programmes under AIESEC’s chapters in India and abroad are bringing out young change makers in the country. Sangeeta Yadav speaks with Sidhant Bhutani to know more
What are some of the upcoming events of Association Internationale Des Etudiants En Sciences Economiques Et Commerciales (AIESEC)IJ
AIESEC India’s local chapters located all over the country, individually host events under a variety of labels and in vivid formats. Importantly, these events revolve around the idea of AIESEC and relevant to topics such as leadership, social entrepreneurship, business, global culture, etc. Nationally, we have the Youth to Business Forum lined up for the month of January 2014. It is a platform which helps to bridge the gap between young Indians and the world of business.
What are your plans of expanding the networkIJ
The AIESEC India network is open to allowing its local committees to expand into interest groups. When these groups or clusters achieve tangible goals and perform up to the set mark, the national team may announce their existence as a new local committee. For instance, this June, AIESEC in Vishakhapatnam became official and is now independent of its parent local committee — AIESEC in Hyderabdad.
How does it work in India and abroadIJ
AIESEC provides experiential leadership development via its unique exchange as well as team role-based programmes. Functionally we are divided majorly into incoming and outgoing portfolios for both undergraduate and graduate internships that one can avail. It is the same case in other countries in the global network. The AIESEC India chapter is comparatively more well-established in terms of our numbers and stats; we are also leading the AIESEC International charts.
Tell us about the leadership development experienceIJ
Experiential leadership Development or the ElD is AIESEC’s primary product. This is carried out through four unique programmes — team member programme, team leader programme, global community development programme (for undergraduates) and global internship programme (for recent graduates).
The former two are associated with joining AIESEC as team members and later on, as team leaders in the hierarchy. The members will be a part of an entity which will work towards contributing to certain exchange numbers and hence the vision of AIESEC. The latter two are the international exchange programmes themselves that are open to the youth to avail and experience.
All these programmes provide both development by honing the leadership, intra and inter personal skills of the youth engaged.
Tell us about the tie-ups.
Our global network is such that one does not need any tie-up to be associated with another country. There may be cases where local committees (or city/entity based chapters) may have signed a memorandum of understanding to ease exchanges among themselves, learning and growing through collaboration. Otherwise, AIESEC has partnered with Electrolux, DHl, linkedIn, Nokia, Billion Hears and many more.
Is there any eligibility criteria to be a part of AIESECIJ
A willingness to adapt to learning and change, the passion to provide quality experiences to others and a nearby local chapter to contact — this is all that is required.
Any membership feeIJ
There is no such fee. One needs to purchase a recruitment form (which will be out for sales only during a specified period of recruitment).
Can you list some young entrepreneurs who have been change makers of the countryIJ
Vinay Jaju (Onergy), Shivinder Singh, Meera Sanyal and Vikram Gandhi have made us proud.
What is the most important quality lacking in today’s youth leadersIJ
They are more ambitious and tameless. But in their hasty journey towards faster success, they leave out on more fragile focus areas.