AIESEC (pronounced "eye-sek", originally an acronym for Association Internationale des Étudiants en Sciences Économiques et Commerciales) is an international youth organization that engages in international student exchange and internship programmes for profit and non-profit organisations. Its international office is in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The AIESEC network as of June 2009 includes over 50,000 students in 107 countries and territories. It is present in over 1,700 universities across the globe, and sends students on 8,000 international exchanges yearly.[1]
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The idea behind AIESEC started in the 1930s, when representatives from schools across Europe exchanged information about various programs and schools that specialized in business and economics. Students were carrying out internships in other countries, but mostly on their own initiative, and it all came to a standstill with the onslaught of World War II.[2] In 1944, though, the neutral Scandinavian countries were still exchanging: in Stockholm, Bertil Hedberg (official at the Stockholm School of Economics) and the two students Jaroslav Zich of Czechoslovakia and Stanislas Callens of Belgium founded “AIESE”, the predecessor of AIESEC.[2]
Informal activity “to help develop ‘friendly relations’ between member countries” began in 1946, and AIESEC was officially founded in 1948. At the time, the mission was “to expand the understanding of a nation by expanding the understanding of the individuals, changing the world one person at a time.”[2] In 1949, 89 students participated in the so-called “Stockholm Congress”, the first of many “Exchange Programs”.[3] Soon, AIESEC became popular: by the end of 1960, 2467 exchanges were reported, and 4232 by the end of 1970. A landmark in AIESEC history was the “International Theme Programme” that officially established all international, regional, and local seminars on specific topics, which in time grew to be a guideline for future AIESEC generations.[3] In the following decades, debated topics were International Trade, Management Education, Sustainable development, Entrepreneurship and Corporate Responsibility,[3] and in the 1990s, intranets called Insight were established to facilitate networking.[3]
AIESEC identifies itself as “the international platform for young people to explore and develop their leadership potential." [4] It annually offers “8,000 leadership positions and delivers over 470 conferences to [its] membership of over 50,000 students". AIESEC also runs an international exchange program that enables over 5550 students and recent graduates the opportunity to live and intern in another country.”[4] It is one of the largest student-run organizations in the world.
2008 marked the 60th anniversary of AIESEC's founding. Celebrations occurred in London (January 2008), Tokyo (March 2008), Budapest (May 2008), Brussels (June 2008), Brazil (August 2008), Stockholm (October 2008), and the United States (December 2008).
To maintain its relevance in the face of changing international relations, AIESEC expands the organization to new countries periodically, a process which is outlined in the organization's global compendium. Countries listed as "Official Extensions" of AIESEC as of March 13, 2009, include Algeria, Angola, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Benin, Ethiopia, Gabon, Georgia, Ireland, Iran, Mauritius, Mongolia, Oman, Qatar, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Vietnam.
AIESEC operates at three levels: Local Committees (LCs), Member Committees (MCs), and AIESEC International (AI).
A Local Committee is based out of a university (or group of nearby universities) which is responsible for the functional operation of AIESEC's internship program. Each country (sometimes group of countries, or territories within a country) with an AIESEC presence has its own national Member Committee (MC), which coordinates activities for that area such as larger scale conferences, large scale partnerships, and government relations (such as for visas). In general, MC members are elected (in whole or in part) by the LCs and are often paid a stipend to work as part-time or full-time employees. AIESEC International provides similar support to Member Committees, and its members are elected (in whole or in part) by the MCs.
In addition to its members, AIESEC International, the Member Committees, and the Local Committees generally have a board of directors/board of advisors composed of externals from the region as well as alumni. These boards provide guidance to the organization and in some cases are legally accountable for AIESEC's actions.
As stated on its website, AIESEC strives for “positive social change” by using the “AIESEC Way”.[5] The AIESEC Way is described as a way of reaching “Peace and fulfilment of humankind’s potential.”[5] According to AIESEC, there are six main values, namely; Activating Leadership, Demonstrating Integrity, Living Diversity, Enjoying Participation, Striving for Excellence and Acting Sustainably.[5]
The "Way We do It" describes how this is to be achieved by each individual member of AIESEC: "AIESEC provides its members with an integrated development experience (The AIESEC Experience) comprised of leadership opportunities, international internships and participation in a global learning environment."
On an individual level, AIESEC enables students to live the AIESEC Experience by taking on leadership opportunities, gaining business skills, and connecting to a global network of students by attending international conferences and interning abroad. There are five key principles, namely Taking an Active Role (main goal: proactive behaviour), Developing Self-Awareness and Personal Vision (assuming responsibility), Increasing Capacity (learning theory and applying it in practice), Building a Network (networking) and Challenging Worldview (holistic world view).[6]
AIESEC holds several high-profile partnerships, among them with companies like Alcatel, ABN AMRO, Cadbury Schweppes, DHL, Electrolux, AB InBev, PwC, Enterprise Asia, HP, Microsoft, Cisco Systems [7] and UBS. These partnerships are mainly related to presence of these partners at AIESEC's forums, and provision of talent from AIESEC to these partners.[8] AIESEC provides global talent sourcing for AB InBev, Alcatel Lucent, and DHL.[9][10][11]
According to the AIESEC Alumni website, several prominent individuals have been involved with the organization[12]. They include:
AIESEC (said like "Eye Seck"), is a big student club that was started in 1946. It was made to fix problems between countries. It has spread all over the world since it started. There are many members in about 100 countries.
AIESEC is an organisation that helps its members to develop themselves. It also has an exchange program for students and university graduates. Most members are students at university but some are paid to work for AIESEC. The organisation is presented in 100 countries in the world. The headquarters of AIESEC are located at Rotterdam.
Members say that AIESEC does a lot of good in the world through the exchange by helping people from different countries to share information about their culture.
For almost 60 years of working AIESEC's main impact had been its alumni all over the world. These alumni become successful business leaders, politicians, and NGO directors. The approximate number of alumni is 800,000.
  | India - in.aiesec.org |
| | United Kingdom - AIESEC UK - A global organisation that transforms students into leaders by running an international exchange program |
| | Norway - Redirecting to new website... |
| | Switzerland - AIESEC Switzerland - Welcome Page |
| | Belgium - AIESEC in Belgium 2008-2009 |
| | 'TCS: Chasing growth with care', IndiaTimes InfoTech - TCS: Chasing growth with care- Jobs-Careers-Indiatimes - Infotech |
| | AIESEC Alumni in Russia - Aiesec Alumni Association New Independent States |
| | AIESEC helps interns make adjustments - University Chronicle - AIESEC helps interns make adjustments |
| | AIESEC Alumni in El Salvador - Alumni AIESEC El Salvador |
| | AIESEC Alumni Association, India - AIESEC Alumni Association |
| | Alumni-Netzwerk Ruhr e.V. - Regional AIESEC alumni association in Germany - AIESEC Alumni Ruhr | News und Veranstaltungstipps für AIESEC-Alumni und Aktive |
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