Typically, they arrive after finishing high school or college. But their aim is not to do the typical backpacker trail of visiting Jaipur and Agra and return with a bagful of pictures and stories about Indian exotica. Foreign students, who come into India on work visas as part of global youth organisation AIESEC’s international exchange programme, are more than willing to invest their time into discovering the real India.
Says Shirin Rai Gupta, Project Head- Events & Communications, AIESEC, Delhi University: “AIESEC in DU works towards providing corporate houses and NGOs with foreign interns, besides providing students with internships abroad. At the moment, we have approximately 30 interns from all over the world working in Delhi and Gurgaon, living independently and interacting on a regular basis with AIESEC members.”
While several of such interns are working with financial and marketing sector as well, some of the most heart-warming stories have emerged from those who have got a chance to be part of the Sarvajanik Shikshonayan Sansthaan (SSS), an NGO in Lucknow.
Says Yini Teo from Malaysia: “Through my internship I have achieved a better understanding of the rural problems in India. Along with a team of seven international members, we plan to ‘join hands and take action’ so as to better the living conditions of the marginalized. This NGO has also exposed us to Indian culture and India’s value system. I have attended various weddings, witnessed traditional dances, enjoyed a multifarious selection of cuisines and I love every bit of it! The diversity we observe in this country makes it extremely special.”
This young intern’s sentiments are echoed by Roanna Medina of Philippines: “I intern with SSS with a team of six other AIESEC interns from five different countries. I have explored both tourist and remote places alike, and have gained immense knowledge from listening to the life experiences of people I have met in my work area. Development work has not been more real to me than in India. I have realized, after spending sometime in this country, that no matter how much you read up on India, nothing can be more informative than truly being immersed in its unique, multifaceted and bewildering beauty.”
According Dutch intern Daan Robben, another foreign intern at SSS: “We are conducting a research on rural development of villages in the Hardoi Area. This gives us opportunity to travel a lot to places like Pali, Lakhimpur and Almora. We have been able to experience different cultures, landscapes and systems. At 22, I have been able to adapt to the traditions of another country.”
And that the AIESEC experience has been an enriching one is further highlighted as more interns share the story of their visits to Indian homes and weddings, conversations with villagers and interaction with local level officers and leaders.
Perhaps the term ‘Foreign’ can no longer apply to these students who have made India their own!
To know more about AIESEC’s Indian internships for students from other countries, log on to www.aiesec.org