Pre-Departure Briefings

IAESTE pre-departure briefings: In May and June, the IAESTE UK team hosted pre-departure briefings in Glasgow, Belfast and London for 122 of the 200 students taking up IAESTE placements abroad in 2006.

IAESTE trainees from 35 UK universities will travel to over 50 nations for work placements in 2006. The aim of the briefings is to prepare the trainees to make the most of the experience, as well as to advise them on how to resolve any difficulties while living and working abroad. Workshop sessions focused on topics such as cultural expectations and personal and career development prospects. Among the guest speakers were Pauline Ferguson, the General Secretary of IAESTE, Liz Rhodes, Director of the National Council for Work Experience, and careers officers from Queens University Belfast and the University of Strathclyde.

The briefings attracted more students than ever before and the feedback indicates that the service should continue to be expanded, perhaps with an additional date in Cardiff in 2007. The briefings have long been an integral part of the IAESTE programme in Northern Ireland, where this year 50 students from Queen's University Belfast and the University of Ulster also attended. 65 engineering, science and architecture students from these two universities will take up IAESTE placements in 38 countries around the world this summer.