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<strong>the</strong> <strong>IAESTE</strong> alumni magazine<br />

A<br />

N lumni<br />

etwork February 2013<br />

friends<br />

1


Welcome<br />

from <strong>the</strong> Alumni Relations Manager<br />

Time has flown by since our last <strong>issue</strong> in November 2012<br />

and once again <strong>the</strong>re is a lot to tell you about what’s happening<br />

in <strong>the</strong> <strong>IAESTE</strong> world. One of <strong>the</strong> benefits of being an<br />

international organisation with 84 member countries is that<br />

we’re never short of great stories to share with you.<br />

I am particularly pleased that in this <strong>issue</strong> we have interviews<br />

with some of our older alumni. The world has changed a great deal<br />

since <strong>IAESTE</strong> was founded, but its purpose and values remain <strong>the</strong> same and it’ s nice to see<br />

this reflected in <strong>the</strong> words of our alumni.<br />

In addition to <strong>the</strong> stories from our alumni, it’s also been a busy period for <strong>IAESTE</strong> in terms<br />

of events. The 66th Annual Conference and <strong>the</strong> 2nd Annual Alumni Conference both took<br />

place in Belfast, Nor<strong>the</strong>rn Ireland in January and we have reports from both. You can also<br />

find just a few of <strong>the</strong> many great photos that were taken during <strong>the</strong> events, but <strong>the</strong>re are<br />

many more to be found on <strong>the</strong> Alumni Network.<br />

2013 is actually <strong>the</strong> 65th Anniversary of <strong>IAESTE</strong> and we will be celebrating throughout<br />

<strong>the</strong> year, so keep any eye on <strong>the</strong> Alumni Network and our social media platforms to see<br />

what’s happening and how you can join in.<br />

Until next time!<br />

Bruce Mehlmann-Wicks<br />

Alumni Relations Manager<br />

What’s inside<br />

Welcome and Contents............................................. 2<br />

Message from <strong>the</strong> General Secretary........................ 3<br />

2nd Annual Alumni Conference............................... 4<br />

Report from <strong>IAESTE</strong>s Annual Alumni<br />

Conference 2013....................................................... 7<br />

<strong>IAESTE</strong> News.......................................................... 8<br />

<strong>IAESTE</strong> Alumnus Jimmy Jack .............................. 10<br />

Interview with Board Members............................... 11<br />

The 66th <strong>IAESTE</strong> Annual Conference.................... 12<br />

Juan Rivera – From Colombia to Belgrade............. 14<br />

Interview with <strong>IAESTE</strong><br />

Vietnam Alumnus Dinh Duong............................... 16<br />

Interview with <strong>IAESTE</strong><br />

Vietnam Alumnus Giap Van Truong........................ 18<br />

<strong>IAESTE</strong> Alumnus Thomas Hughes<br />

on his life and traineeship in Sweden in 1960......... 19<br />

<strong>IAESTE</strong> Alumnus Emmanuel Garuz<br />

on his traineeship in Switzerland............................. 20<br />

Ali Khan on his traineeship in Tokyo, Japan........... 21<br />

How can you help?.................................................. 22<br />

Contacts................................................................... 23<br />

2


Message<br />

from <strong>the</strong> General Secretary Goran Radnovic<br />

A lumni<br />

N etwork<br />

When Mr James Newby and friends<br />

from Imperial College, London were<br />

around a billiard table forming <strong>IAESTE</strong> after<br />

<strong>the</strong> Second World War in 1948, <strong>the</strong>y could<br />

never have imagined that it would still be<br />

going strong some 65 years later. And yet<br />

here we are in 2013, celebrating 65 years<br />

of exchanging students for technical experience,<br />

with <strong>the</strong> same values and purpose put<br />

forward by our founders all those years ago.<br />

Our association continues to survive,<br />

despite harsh economic conditions and<br />

difficult changes in <strong>the</strong> world, precisely<br />

because our founding principles are as relevant<br />

today as <strong>the</strong>y were in 1948.<br />

Our mission:<br />

‘To operate a high quality practical<br />

training exchange program between members<br />

in order to enhance technical and<br />

professional development and to promote<br />

international understanding and goodwill<br />

amongst students, academic institutions,<br />

employers and <strong>the</strong> wider community.’<br />

With over 343.000 students sent on<br />

traineeships since 1948, <strong>the</strong>re can be no<br />

doubt of <strong>the</strong> impact <strong>IAESTE</strong> has had on<br />

<strong>the</strong> world and specifically <strong>the</strong> lives of young<br />

scientists and engineers.<br />

As we look back, it is clear that behind<br />

every student that has been given a life<br />

changing opportunity, <strong>the</strong>re is a team of<br />

people working to provide that opportunity,<br />

and I would like to thank everyone that<br />

has ever worked to make this possible.<br />

The biggest strength of <strong>IAESTE</strong> is its<br />

people and <strong>the</strong> feeling of friendship that<br />

permeates throughout <strong>the</strong> <strong>IAESTE</strong> world.<br />

Here’s to <strong>the</strong> next 65 years!<br />

Goran Radnović<br />

General Secretary<br />

<strong>IAESTE</strong> A.s.b.l.<br />

3


Alumni<br />

N etwork<br />

2nd Annual Alumni Conference<br />

In <strong>the</strong> year since <strong>the</strong> 1st Annual Alumni Conference <strong>the</strong> Alumni Network has grown<br />

and grown. The membership has more than doubled and activity increased across<br />

<strong>the</strong> board. With <strong>the</strong>se improvements and developments, expectations have also<br />

been increased, so it was clear that <strong>the</strong> 2nd Annual Alumni Conference would have<br />

to be even better than <strong>the</strong> last.<br />

Despite challenging economic times, 26<br />

alumni from 18 different countries arrived<br />

in Belfast for a weekend of fun and<br />

professional development. The group even<br />

included several alumni that were at <strong>the</strong> first alumni<br />

conference in Skopje, FYR Macedonia.<br />

Despite coming from countries as diverse as Brazil,<br />

Pakistan, Poland, China, Tunisia, Jordan, USA, Ireland,<br />

Germany, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Ne<strong>the</strong>rlands,<br />

Norway, Spain, Serbia, Turkey, UK and Switzerland,<br />

it was clear from <strong>the</strong> beginning that what everyone<br />

brought with <strong>the</strong>m was <strong>the</strong> <strong>IAESTE</strong> spirit!<br />

Heavy snowfall meant that not all <strong>the</strong> participants<br />

could arrive in time for <strong>the</strong> welcome event that took<br />

place at <strong>the</strong> Europa Hotel alongside <strong>the</strong> participants from<br />

<strong>the</strong> 66th <strong>IAESTE</strong> Annual Conference. Those that were<br />

<strong>the</strong>re enjoyed drinks, some traditional<br />

fish and chips and a warm welcome<br />

from <strong>the</strong> conference organisers.<br />

By Saturday morning nearly all of<br />

<strong>the</strong> participants had arrived and <strong>the</strong><br />

conference got underway with <strong>the</strong> formal<br />

welcome and conference opening.<br />

After a series of inspiring speeches and<br />

a bit of lunch, it was time for <strong>the</strong> first<br />

Alumni Conference session.<br />

Feedback from last year’s conference<br />

suggested that participants would<br />

like to have <strong>the</strong> opportunity for some<br />

professional development. Thanks to<br />

4


former General Secretary, Pauline Ferguson, we were able<br />

to find <strong>the</strong> <strong>IAESTE</strong> Alumnus Enda Young who is a leader<br />

in his field of conflict resolution. Enda agreed to host a<br />

workshop for participants focussing on dealing with conflict<br />

in <strong>the</strong> work place and in life generally.<br />

From <strong>the</strong> feedback we received after <strong>the</strong> event, Enda’s<br />

workshop was a real highlight of <strong>the</strong> conference. Not only<br />

was it engaging and fun, <strong>the</strong> participants also felt like <strong>the</strong>y<br />

learned a lot that <strong>the</strong>y could take back into <strong>the</strong>ir lives and<br />

use.<br />

After <strong>the</strong> intensive morning session and a nice lunch<br />

with <strong>the</strong> AC participants, <strong>the</strong> afternoon was spent hearing<br />

from <strong>the</strong> Alumni Relations Manager about <strong>the</strong> current<br />

status of <strong>the</strong> Alumni Network and gave <strong>the</strong> participants <strong>the</strong><br />

opportunity to provide feedback and develop new ideas to<br />

take forward.<br />

It was a really excellent session and lots of great feedback<br />

and ideas were received. The enthusiasm shown by <strong>the</strong><br />

participants clearly showed how firmly <strong>the</strong>y hold <strong>IAESTE</strong><br />

in <strong>the</strong>ir hearts. <strong>IAESTE</strong> Alumni are very keen to stay involved<br />

with <strong>the</strong> organisation and are a huge resource for <strong>the</strong><br />

organisation with <strong>the</strong> experience and knowledge <strong>the</strong>y bring.<br />

In <strong>the</strong> evening <strong>the</strong> participants attended <strong>the</strong> gala dinner<br />

which took place at <strong>the</strong> Titanic Signature Building. The<br />

dinner was a truly memorable experience, not just in terms<br />

of <strong>the</strong> excellent food, but also <strong>the</strong> atmosphere and setting.<br />

At <strong>the</strong> end of <strong>the</strong> evening participants were treated to a concert<br />

from <strong>the</strong> Belfast Community choir which was incredible<br />

and a wonderful way to finish <strong>the</strong> first day’s programme.<br />

It was going to be hard to top day one but we had to try.<br />

The day began with a bus tour of Belfast, taking in all <strong>the</strong><br />

famous sites including <strong>the</strong> Peace Wall, Stormont, Queen’s<br />

University, Belfast and many more. We were lucky enough<br />

to have Pauline Ferguson as our tour guide and she was an<br />

excellent source of local information and very entertaining.<br />

Despite <strong>the</strong> snow and difficult driving conditions, everyone<br />

had a great time and learned a lot about <strong>the</strong> wonderful city<br />

of Belfast.<br />

After warming up and some lunch, it was time for <strong>the</strong><br />

afternoon sessions, The History of <strong>IAESTE</strong>, once again delivered<br />

by Pauline Ferguson, Fundraising activities, delivered<br />

by Elef<strong>the</strong>ria Karydi and <strong>the</strong>n an opportunity to hear from<br />

<strong>the</strong> participants <strong>the</strong>mselves. Listening to <strong>the</strong> participants tell<br />

<strong>the</strong>ir own stories was very inspiring and showed just how<br />

much <strong>IAESTE</strong> impacts on people’s lives. The willingness<br />

of those people to want to give back to <strong>the</strong> organisation<br />

by staying involved with <strong>IAESTE</strong> was amazing and really<br />

showed <strong>the</strong> benefit of hosting a conference for Alumni.<br />

The final event left for <strong>the</strong> weekend was <strong>the</strong> famous<br />

International Evening where over 300 delegates shared food<br />

and drink from <strong>the</strong>ir home countries. The Alumni Conference<br />

participants had <strong>the</strong>ir own table and brought toge<strong>the</strong>r<br />

many different flavours from all over <strong>the</strong> world. A great<br />

time was had by all and it was a wonderful way to end <strong>the</strong><br />

conference for <strong>the</strong> alumni.<br />

We are already looking forward to <strong>the</strong> 3rd Annual<br />

Alumni Conference which will take place next January in<br />

Ecuador and we hope to see many of our alumni <strong>the</strong>re!<br />

s<br />

Photo taken by Anli Tang<br />

For lots more photos from <strong>the</strong><br />

2nd Annual Alumni Conference,<br />

log in to <strong>the</strong> Alumni Network!<br />

5


6 Contact: Global Support Team l e-mail: gst@iaeste.org


A lumni<br />

N etwork<br />

<strong>IAESTE</strong>s Annual Alumni<br />

Conference 2013 - Fredrik Jakobsen’s report<br />

When I arrived in Belfast on Thursday, I was<br />

received at <strong>the</strong> airport by a group of somewhat<br />

flustered <strong>IAESTE</strong> members. It turned<br />

out that <strong>the</strong> wea<strong>the</strong>r conditions had impaired<br />

<strong>the</strong> air traffic, and a lot of flights carrying participants<br />

to ei<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong> Annual Conference (AC) or <strong>the</strong> Annual Alumni<br />

Conference (AAC) had been delayed or cancelled.<br />

Some of <strong>the</strong> participants were quite excited about <strong>the</strong><br />

snowy climate of Nor<strong>the</strong>rn Ireland as <strong>the</strong>y had limited experience<br />

with such conditions from <strong>the</strong>ir native countries.<br />

With <strong>the</strong> organisers trying <strong>the</strong>ir best to adapt <strong>the</strong>ir schedules,<br />

I spent <strong>the</strong> evening on a nearby pub called Robinson,<br />

joined by two AAC participants from Poland. We enjoyed<br />

<strong>the</strong> attention from local customers, who had taken notice<br />

of our participant cards and were curious of <strong>the</strong> nature of<br />

<strong>the</strong> convention we were participating, and of <strong>IAESTE</strong> in<br />

general.<br />

On Friday I missed out on a sight-seeing excursion to<br />

<strong>the</strong> Giant’s Causeway, which was a pity, but at least I got <strong>the</strong><br />

time to recuperate from an entire day of travelling. In <strong>the</strong><br />

evening <strong>the</strong>re was a welcoming buffet with participants from<br />

both of <strong>the</strong> conferences. The official opening ceremony was<br />

held on Saturday morning. There were speeches held by <strong>the</strong><br />

Board, as well as members of <strong>the</strong> British Council, on behalf<br />

of <strong>the</strong> hosting committee. The ceremony was accompanied<br />

by traditional Irish musical numbers.<br />

After <strong>the</strong> ceremony, <strong>the</strong> national committee representatives<br />

began <strong>the</strong> exchange session, while <strong>the</strong> AAC group<br />

had its first session of presentations and workshops. One<br />

of <strong>the</strong> presentations was given by Enda Young, who taught<br />

us <strong>the</strong> basic principles of interpersonal conflicts, and how<br />

<strong>the</strong>y could affect us and our environments. One of <strong>the</strong><br />

workshops concerned possible improvements of <strong>the</strong> Alumni<br />

web pages. After <strong>the</strong> conference activities, we went to <strong>the</strong><br />

Titanic Signature Building for a dinner toge<strong>the</strong>r with <strong>the</strong><br />

AAC participants. Representatives of <strong>the</strong> British Council<br />

held a couple of speeches, and a local choir entertained us<br />

with some singing. Most of <strong>the</strong> younger audience joined in<br />

with dancing throughout <strong>the</strong> performance.<br />

On Sunday we went on a sight-seeing tour narrated by<br />

Pauline Ferguson. We saw <strong>the</strong> Parliamentary Building, <strong>the</strong><br />

industrial district, <strong>the</strong> peace wall, <strong>the</strong> University, and <strong>the</strong><br />

town’s smallest house. Afterwards, Pauline held a presentation<br />

about <strong>the</strong> history of <strong>IAESTE</strong>, and we saw a movie that<br />

was basically a forty-minute long slideshow documenting<br />

Annual Conferences throughout <strong>the</strong> years.<br />

After that, we were joined by Jimmy Jack, an earlier<br />

<strong>IAESTE</strong> trainee originating from Nor<strong>the</strong>rn Ireland. Elef<strong>the</strong>ria<br />

Karydi gave a short presentation on <strong>IAESTE</strong>’s international<br />

fundraising activities, and we had a round of “My<br />

<strong>IAESTE</strong> experience” presentations.<br />

In <strong>the</strong> evening we joined <strong>the</strong> international evening event,<br />

and represented <strong>the</strong> alumni group with our own table. There<br />

was much rejoicing. On Monday I stopped by Europa Hotel<br />

to get a small glimpse of <strong>the</strong> Conference, before I left<br />

around eleven.<br />

Fredrik<br />

Jakobsen<br />

– centre of<br />

picture<br />

Photo taken by Anli Tang<br />

My little <strong>IAESTE</strong> story – Sabine Niebel<br />

I<br />

just graduated last summer and found<br />

my first job in Switzerland. Happy<br />

about <strong>the</strong> new situation and to be able<br />

to take long holidays over Christmas<br />

and New Year’s; I felt that I cannot ask my<br />

boss for more holidays to attend <strong>the</strong> Alumni<br />

Conference in January. Just two weeks after<br />

<strong>the</strong> last holidays – I thought it would be impossible.<br />

Fortunately my Spanish friend Almu<br />

wrote to me at <strong>the</strong> last minute before Christmas,<br />

convincing me to come. So I went to<br />

my boss, asked if I could take two more days<br />

off to go to <strong>the</strong> <strong>IAESTE</strong> event and what did<br />

I learn? My boss looked at me with a bright<br />

smile, telling me that years ago he was an<br />

<strong>IAESTE</strong> trainee in Norway. So I got <strong>the</strong> days<br />

off and luckily went to this great and well organised<br />

second Alumni Conference. Life is<br />

full of good surprises! Thanks <strong>IAESTE</strong>!<br />

Photo taken by Anli Tang<br />

7


<strong>IAESTE</strong><br />

NEWS<br />

Ne<strong>the</strong>rlands request<br />

Dear <strong>IAESTE</strong> friends<br />

I am writing you this message on behalf of <strong>IAESTE</strong><br />

Ne<strong>the</strong>rlands IU a newly formed <strong>IAESTE</strong> co-operating<br />

institution. As you may know, <strong>IAESTE</strong> in The Ne<strong>the</strong>rlands<br />

was re-established in 2011, after having previously<br />

existed between 1948 and 2006.<br />

We consider an alumni network essential for <strong>the</strong><br />

development of <strong>IAESTE</strong> in The Ne<strong>the</strong>rlands; however,<br />

since it was previously run by a different organisation<br />

(Nuffic), we have no access to <strong>the</strong> contact details of our<br />

alumni as Nuffic is unable to share <strong>the</strong> information<br />

with us.<br />

Because of this situation we would like to ask you a<br />

favor, if you knew any Dutch trainees through <strong>IAESTE</strong><br />

prior to 2007, would you be so kind as to ask <strong>the</strong>m to<br />

contact us. This would enable us to inform <strong>the</strong>m about<br />

<strong>the</strong> newly formed co-operating institution, and invite<br />

<strong>the</strong>m to future alumni events.<br />

Some <strong>IAESTE</strong> countries have been able to put us in<br />

contact with alumni and we are currently trying to find<br />

<strong>the</strong>m on LinkedIn etc. However, this is only a small part<br />

of all <strong>the</strong> alumni we have had since <strong>the</strong> start of <strong>IAESTE</strong><br />

in 1948, so we could definitely use your help!<br />

With kind regards,<br />

On behalf of <strong>IAESTE</strong> Ne<strong>the</strong>rlands IU<br />

Maarten Kruger<br />

president@iaestenederland.nl<br />

<strong>IAESTE</strong> Liberia-BONSU press conference<br />

Bong Students Union (BONSU) office,<br />

Gbarnga city, Bong County<br />

February 9, 2013<br />

It is such a great honour that Liberians (i.e. students and<br />

young professionals) happily accepted <strong>IAESTE</strong> once<br />

again as <strong>the</strong>y expressed <strong>the</strong>ir commitment to work and<br />

participate in knowledge sharing and experience gaining<br />

with o<strong>the</strong>r friends around <strong>the</strong> world. Those attending <strong>the</strong> conference<br />

believed that this restoration of dignity.<br />

They believed <strong>the</strong> story of <strong>the</strong> <strong>IAESTE</strong> is a success story that<br />

<strong>the</strong>y should be proud of. Particularly looking at <strong>the</strong>mselves join<br />

with over 89 countries to participate in an exchange program<br />

that is over 64 years in operation. They expressed that <strong>IAESTE</strong><br />

have played a great role in providing students with technical expertise<br />

in <strong>the</strong>ir fields of study and Liberia is now going to benefit<br />

from such great experiences. <strong>IAESTE</strong> LIBERIA-BONSU<br />

Liberia is now one of <strong>the</strong> newest co-operating members of <strong>the</strong><br />

<strong>IAESTE</strong> network, which now has over 200 members throughout<br />

<strong>the</strong> country. The establishment of <strong>IAESTE</strong> with <strong>the</strong> Bong<br />

Student Union could have been possible with <strong>the</strong> efforts of Mr.<br />

Augustus J. Flomo who is now being considered as <strong>the</strong> MEN-<br />

TOR for <strong>the</strong> Liberia Program. This will provide unlimited opportunities<br />

for Liberians students to be involved in valuable<br />

international exchange focused on technical development.<br />

The hope of Liberian students have grown that <strong>the</strong>re<br />

is now an opportunity to travel abroad, meet new people<br />

and get formal training experience. <strong>IAESTE</strong> Liberia seek<br />

to reach out to business houses, schools, Universities, companies,<br />

etc. and to form a lasting partnership to assist in<br />

qualifying students all over <strong>the</strong> country to become successful<br />

professionals who could contribute to sustainable development<br />

of <strong>the</strong>ir local societies and <strong>the</strong> global communities<br />

as well. We at BONSU and Liberia are really keen on working<br />

hand in hand with <strong>IAESTE</strong> and benefiting from <strong>the</strong>ir<br />

expertise in this area.<br />

Although <strong>the</strong>re are thousand and plentiful hindrances that<br />

show <strong>the</strong>ir ugly heads whenever we think about <strong>the</strong> challenges<br />

that lie ahead, we will never stop planning for a healthier future.<br />

Progress is our hope, <strong>the</strong> route that will take us <strong>the</strong>re is that<br />

of reason, freedom, knowledge, and justice. The wretch of <strong>the</strong><br />

world will be our companion’s journey.<br />

Thanks.<br />

Jepthah P. Cooper<br />

Person in Charge <strong>IAESTE</strong>-Liberia<br />

8<br />

Contact Numbers:<br />

+231886568831<br />

+231886527159<br />

Email:<br />

liberiabonsu@iaeste.org<br />

augustusjflomo@yahoo.com<br />

Mailing address:<br />

Refund Building, Collins Street<br />

P.O. Box 1707


‘Përshëndetje’ means ‘Hello’<br />

in Albanian language!<br />

“A single dream is more powerful than a thousand<br />

realities.”- said J.R.R. Tolkien.<br />

<strong>IAESTE</strong> Albania is founded by a group of four ‘dreamers’<br />

that aimed to bring in Albania a students' organisation<br />

that will help students to reach <strong>the</strong>ir goals for a better education<br />

and for an excellent career. We aimed to establish an<br />

organisation of <strong>the</strong> students, by <strong>the</strong> students and for <strong>the</strong><br />

students. Today our group is becoming bigger and bigger<br />

and a lot of students are wishing for having <strong>the</strong>ir first exchange<br />

experiences. Albania is a country with a small but a<br />

young population, located in <strong>the</strong> continent of Europe. The<br />

capital city is Tirana, where <strong>IAESTE</strong> Albania is located<br />

and is mostly operating. Countries near Albania such as<br />

Serbia, Macedonia, Greece, and Bosnia and Herzegovina<br />

are part of <strong>IAESTE</strong> since decades; <strong>IAESTE</strong> Albania is also<br />

aiming to go forward.<br />

Our first contact with <strong>IAESTE</strong> was from Suleiman,<br />

<strong>IAESTE</strong> Jordan, who introduced us with <strong>the</strong> organisation<br />

and since that moment we have been convinced that <strong>the</strong><br />

<strong>IAESTE</strong> was <strong>the</strong> accurate organization to be brought in<br />

Albania. During <strong>the</strong> period of our first introduction with<br />

<strong>IAESTE</strong>, we have been studying in Austria. <strong>IAESTE</strong> LC<br />

Graz and <strong>IAESTE</strong> Austria invited us to <strong>the</strong>ir national<br />

meeting in Flößerdorf and <strong>the</strong>re we had <strong>the</strong> possibility to<br />

meet members from <strong>IAESTE</strong> Norway, <strong>IAESTE</strong> Slovenia,<br />

<strong>IAESTE</strong> Italy, <strong>IAESTE</strong> Turkey… and we realised that <strong>the</strong>y<br />

were all wonderful people, very friendly and very motivated…we<br />

definitely liked <strong>IAESTE</strong> a lot.<br />

Then in a later stage things needed to be formalised and<br />

we worked hard to become a Co-operating institution with<br />

<strong>IAESTE</strong>. Today we are very happy that we are part of <strong>the</strong><br />

<strong>IAESTE</strong>. We are aware of <strong>the</strong> long course that we have in<br />

front of us, but we are motivated and lucky to have <strong>the</strong><br />

support for our friends. We are immensely thankful to: Mr.<br />

Radnovic, GS, to all Board Members, to Olga, GST, to<br />

Teresa, <strong>IAESTE</strong> Austria, to Suleiman, <strong>IAESTE</strong> Jordan, to<br />

Milo, <strong>IAESTE</strong> Ne<strong>the</strong>rlands…<br />

Thank you for helping us to reach our dream!<br />

Sincerely:<br />

<strong>IAESTE</strong> Albania team:<br />

Edlira Osmani, Eni Huta, Endlers Kërtusha<br />

You can contact us:<br />

albaniaiceste@iaeste.org<br />

Or follow us on FB:<br />

http://www.facebook.com/<br />

IaesteAlbaniamember<br />

9


Alumni<br />

N etwork<br />

<strong>IAESTE</strong> Alumnus Jimmy Jack<br />

on his traineeship in Poland in 1961<br />

My name is Jimmy Jack and I am from Coleraine,<br />

Nor<strong>the</strong>rn Ireland. I was born and brought up in<br />

Belfast but I have been living in Coleraine near<br />

<strong>the</strong> Giant’s Causeway since 1965. I am married<br />

to Anne and have three daughters.<br />

From 1962 until my retirement in 2004 I was employed<br />

as a civil engineer on roads, drainage, bored piling, water and<br />

sewerage design and construction working for contractors, consultants,<br />

and <strong>the</strong> civil service. My retirement activities are gardening,<br />

music, church, cycling, politics and travel (mostly to<br />

visit my daughters in England, Scotland and beyond).<br />

I first learned about <strong>IAESTE</strong> because my bro<strong>the</strong>r worked<br />

in a chemical factory in Queen’s in Switzerland in 1955 organised<br />

by <strong>IAESTE</strong>. Then at Queens University in 1959 a civil<br />

engineering student gave a talk on his <strong>IAESTE</strong> experiences in<br />

Norway and <strong>the</strong> same year I stayed in Brig with my bro<strong>the</strong>r<br />

near to where he had worked and in <strong>the</strong> Simplon Hotel where<br />

he had been lodged.<br />

Having been impressed by what I had learnt about <strong>IAESTE</strong><br />

I decided to apply for a place in Germany or Turkey that were<br />

offered. I was <strong>the</strong>n offered Krakow in Poland and was immediately<br />

intrigued and curious and set about reading about<br />

and getting information on <strong>the</strong> situation in that ‘Iron Curtain’<br />

country. A student’s representative, who had been to Prague,<br />

assured me that I would not regret <strong>the</strong> experience in spite of <strong>the</strong><br />

presence of ‘secret police’. There was no induction at that time<br />

but we were given <strong>the</strong> names of o<strong>the</strong>r participants and were<br />

able to compare notes by writing letters to each o<strong>the</strong>r.<br />

I started my traineeship on <strong>the</strong> 22nd July 1961. I went to<br />

Krakow via Berlin by train to work for<br />

‘Hut im Lenina’ a state owned, Stalin<br />

inspired, large industrial complex involving<br />

blast furnaces, steel manufacture, rolling mills, cement<br />

works, and chemical factories . The experience revealed <strong>the</strong><br />

sense of Russian exploitation felt by <strong>the</strong> local workers. It was<br />

linguistically difficult to learn much engineering although I<br />

was able to compare notes with English speaking students from<br />

England, Germany, Austria, France and Yugoslavia (as it was<br />

<strong>the</strong>n). I gained an interest in languages, politics and history of<br />

o<strong>the</strong>r countries and it helped me to relate engineering to society<br />

in general.<br />

My visit to Auschwitz left a deep impression at that time.<br />

It was easy to see why <strong>the</strong> Polish engineers were so politically<br />

aware and humbling to see how <strong>the</strong>ir lives had been affected<br />

by <strong>the</strong> traumas of war compared to my relatively sheltered upbringing<br />

in a <strong>the</strong>n ‘peaceful’ Nor<strong>the</strong>rn Ireland. This made me<br />

aware of <strong>the</strong> realities of life in <strong>the</strong> wider world and in a sense<br />

prepared me for a career dominated by <strong>the</strong> 1968-2000 troubles<br />

and prompted me to treat politics as a vital engineering consideration.<br />

I think <strong>IAESTE</strong> is very important for international understanding<br />

and cooperation. This is underlined by <strong>the</strong> causes and<br />

effects of climate change, food, water and energy provision by<br />

states and multi-national companies and how an organisation<br />

can inspire international technical cooperation. I wonder what<br />

it would be like, or if it would be possible, to work in Israel<br />

or Palestine? <strong>IAESTE</strong> can make a big impact providing that it<br />

is well publicised in <strong>the</strong> media and technical and professional<br />

institutions (such as ICE).<br />

Thank you for <strong>the</strong> opportunity to participate in <strong>the</strong> Belfast<br />

2013 conference even though I could only manage half a day.<br />

Jimmy Jack with<br />

participants of <strong>the</strong><br />

2nd Annual Alumni<br />

Conference<br />

1010


Interview with Board Members<br />

A lumni<br />

N etwork<br />

NINA<br />

My name is Niina Juuti and I am from Finland.<br />

After graduating in 2004 I did a traineeship<br />

in Finland and ano<strong>the</strong>r one in Belgium.<br />

Between and after <strong>the</strong> traineeships I had various<br />

short jobs, some also at <strong>the</strong> office where <strong>IAESTE</strong> Finland is<br />

administrated.<br />

I have been working with <strong>IAESTE</strong> since spring 2007. I<br />

started as responsible for outgoing students and <strong>the</strong> following<br />

year I also got <strong>the</strong> responsibility of National Secretary. On an<br />

international level I was <strong>the</strong> workgroup coordinator for SID<br />

WG iPLUG from 2009-2012.<br />

In Finland <strong>IAESTE</strong> is run at CIMO which is also <strong>the</strong> National<br />

Agency for various European Commission programs.<br />

We are two people working for <strong>IAESTE</strong>, but we both also<br />

have o<strong>the</strong>r tasks. In Finland we have only one Local Committee,<br />

in Tampere, but in each technical university we have<br />

a contact person who is spreading <strong>the</strong> word about <strong>IAESTE</strong><br />

traineeships.<br />

I think alumni are a very important resource for <strong>IAESTE</strong>.<br />

They can both encourage <strong>the</strong> students to do a traineeship with<br />

<strong>IAESTE</strong> and convince <strong>the</strong>ir employers to hire an <strong>IAESTE</strong><br />

trainee. For both groups <strong>the</strong>y have <strong>the</strong>ir own story to tell. I<br />

have visited 14 countries with <strong>IAESTE</strong> so far. And <strong>the</strong>re are<br />

more to come! During my time with <strong>IAESTE</strong> I have sent about<br />

400 students abroad.<br />

There are too many funny stories, but as I don’t want to embarrass<br />

anyone<br />

personally,<br />

I could<br />

summarise our adventurous<br />

SID in Rendsburg 2010. We arrived<br />

in Hamburg with my Finnish colleague<br />

right on time – <strong>the</strong> famous<br />

Icelandic ash cloud covered <strong>the</strong> European<br />

airspace pretty soon after<br />

we had safely landed in Germany.<br />

About half of <strong>the</strong> participants never<br />

arrived, and <strong>the</strong> ones who got <strong>the</strong>re<br />

spent a great deal of <strong>the</strong>ir time figuring<br />

out how to get home.<br />

As a work group coordinator I was actually quite surprised<br />

we got so much work done between all travel arrangements! For<br />

<strong>the</strong> Finnish team <strong>the</strong> best option to get home was by sea, but<br />

<strong>the</strong> ferries were fully booked for several days after <strong>the</strong> SID finished.<br />

However, as we were in <strong>the</strong> good hands of <strong>the</strong> great organising<br />

team of <strong>IAESTE</strong> Germany, we could join <strong>the</strong> Post Seminar<br />

Tour and enjoy some relaxing days in Berlin and Hamburg<br />

before heading to Travemünde where our ferry left. 29 hours<br />

later we were safely back at home – 5 days later than planned<br />

but one experience richer.<br />

In <strong>the</strong> next three years I would like to see <strong>IAESTE</strong> as a more<br />

effective organisation that is better known worldwide.<br />

My name is Darko Todorovski and I come from<br />

Skopje, Macedonia. I am still a student at <strong>the</strong><br />

university of st.’Ciril and Methodius’ in Skopje,<br />

Macedonia and now I am working as an intern<br />

in San Francisco, California.<br />

In <strong>the</strong> <strong>IAESTE</strong> family I am working for 6 and half years.<br />

During this time I have been involved in member raising, fundraising,<br />

job raising and especially marketing, also I have been<br />

a president of LC Skopje, main coordinator of <strong>the</strong> AC 2012<br />

and one of <strong>the</strong> founders of <strong>the</strong> first Annual Alumni Conference<br />

(AAC).<br />

<strong>IAESTE</strong> Macedonia is great national organisation. We are<br />

involved in everything that we can lay our hands on. We have<br />

DARKO<br />

excellent relationship with o<strong>the</strong>r organisations<br />

and we have quite a lot of<br />

alumni who are acting as our guardian angels.<br />

Our job raising is increasing year by year, membership is<br />

growing and we have an excellent summer reception.<br />

Alumni are really important to <strong>IAESTE</strong> because <strong>the</strong>y are<br />

<strong>the</strong> root of <strong>the</strong> tree. They were working in <strong>the</strong>ir time and <strong>the</strong>y<br />

are helping in ours. That is <strong>the</strong> all point in <strong>the</strong> alumni, to be<br />

<strong>the</strong>re for <strong>the</strong> new generations <strong>the</strong> same way when someone was<br />

<strong>the</strong>re in <strong>the</strong>ir time.<br />

I have lost count of <strong>the</strong> number of countries I have visited<br />

with <strong>IAESTE</strong> but I think it is around 60. If you have asked me<br />

how many continents I have visited I will say that only one is<br />

left in my list, Australia. I have never had <strong>the</strong> opportunity to<br />

go <strong>the</strong>re, and <strong>the</strong> funny part is that I have so many friends and<br />

relatives <strong>the</strong>re!<br />

I am not sure if I have <strong>the</strong> right answer but roughly speaking,<br />

around 350 students have been received and around 200<br />

sent during my time with <strong>IAESTE</strong>. There are so many funny<br />

stories from my time with <strong>IAESTE</strong> that I wouldn’t know from<br />

where to start to tell <strong>the</strong>m all!<br />

One of my main vision and goal as a Board member for<br />

<strong>IAESTE</strong> is to have at least a third more jobs before <strong>the</strong> next Annual<br />

Conference, <strong>the</strong> second one is to promote <strong>the</strong> organisation<br />

on a national and international level. I have a few marketing<br />

tricks that I want to share!<br />

11


The 66th <strong>IAESTE</strong><br />

The 66th <strong>IAESTE</strong> Annual Conference took place<br />

in Belfast, Nor<strong>the</strong>rn Ireland from 18-25 January<br />

2013. The conference saw over 250 delegates<br />

from around 80 countries come toge<strong>the</strong>r<br />

for a week of exchanging traineeships and General Conference<br />

sessions. During <strong>the</strong> week over 4000 traineeships were<br />

exchanged, providing exciting, rewarding opportunities for<br />

many students around <strong>the</strong> world.<br />

As well as <strong>the</strong> exchange sessions, members also attended<br />

General Conference sessions where important matters<br />

regarding <strong>the</strong> association were discussed and voted upon.<br />

We are pleased to share that <strong>IAESTE</strong> Belarus, United Arab<br />

Emirates and Panama were given full-member status and<br />

12


Annual Conference<br />

<strong>IAESTE</strong> Peru and <strong>IAESTE</strong> Tanzania were<br />

given Associate Member status at <strong>the</strong> conference.<br />

We are also pleased to welcome<br />

new Cooperating Institutions from Liberia,<br />

Bolivia and Albania.<br />

One of <strong>the</strong> highlights of <strong>the</strong> week was<br />

<strong>the</strong> gala dinner which took place at <strong>the</strong> Titanic<br />

Signature Building. Conference participants,<br />

supporters of <strong>IAESTE</strong>, including<br />

local employers enjoyed an evening<br />

of great food, great company and a wonderful<br />

concert given by <strong>the</strong> Belfast Community<br />

Gospel Choir. By <strong>the</strong> end of <strong>the</strong><br />

evening, everyone was on <strong>the</strong>ir feet, doing<br />

<strong>the</strong> <strong>IAESTE</strong> dance, and looking forward<br />

to meeting again in Ecuador in 2014.<br />

Photos taken by Thomas Faltner – for<br />

many more photos from <strong>the</strong> 66th Annual<br />

Conference visit <strong>the</strong> Alumni Network!<br />

In 2013 <strong>IAESTE</strong> is celebrating its<br />

65th Anniversary!<br />

Lookout on <strong>the</strong> Alumni Network<br />

for events and celebrations throughout <strong>the</strong> year,<br />

including a big birthday party on <strong>IAESTE</strong> Day!


Alumni<br />

N etwork Juan Rivera –<br />

From Colombia to Belgrade<br />

In summer 2009 I<br />

started a great adventure<br />

in <strong>the</strong> fantastic<br />

city of Belgrade.<br />

Without knowing how<br />

would that be, I packed<br />

my bags and arrived in<br />

Belgrade <strong>the</strong> 9th of June<br />

2009. Unknowingly, I was<br />

<strong>the</strong> second person that arrived<br />

among 80 students<br />

from all around <strong>the</strong> world<br />

and destiny had planned<br />

me to be <strong>the</strong> last one to<br />

leave. After three unbelievable<br />

months of summer,<br />

some of <strong>the</strong>m started<br />

to return to <strong>the</strong>ir countries<br />

and <strong>the</strong>refore a ritual<br />

began and we all started<br />

to write a goodbye card to<br />

each one of us.<br />

February 2010, most of us have already left and I<br />

signed each one of <strong>the</strong> goodbye cards to each one of <strong>the</strong><br />

fantastic people I met <strong>the</strong>re but always with <strong>the</strong> sadness<br />

that for me <strong>the</strong>re won’t be a goodbye card because I<br />

knew I was going to be <strong>the</strong> last one to leave.<br />

And so, secretly, a big goodbye card was created; and<br />

<strong>the</strong>re was a route planned; it started in <strong>the</strong> Middle East<br />

countries and <strong>the</strong> card was planned to move almost all<br />

around <strong>the</strong> world, Europe, Asia, North America, Mexico<br />

and finally South America to have as final destination<br />

Ibague, Colombia. The card, started from Jordan on <strong>the</strong><br />

10th of December 2009 moving forward to Syria, Spain,<br />

Italy, Greece, Romania, Poland, Switzerland, Germany,<br />

Ireland and <strong>the</strong>n it travelled overseas to Canada; in October<br />

2010 it arrived to <strong>the</strong> United States and Mexico<br />

after that.<br />

Then in Mexico <strong>the</strong> card was lost, I suppose it went<br />

partying somewhere in Tijuana as I would normally do.<br />

After months of being lost I was told about <strong>the</strong> card<br />

and <strong>the</strong> idea that <strong>the</strong>re were some photos taken just in<br />

case <strong>the</strong> card got lost in traffic. I felt special having such<br />

nice friends all around <strong>the</strong> world and thankful for such<br />

a nice idea.<br />

Some day in September 2012 <strong>the</strong> Card stop partying<br />

in Tijuana and decided to continue <strong>the</strong> route and<br />

arrived in Brazil, Argentina and Brazil once more. Since<br />

my plans changed quite a bit after such an amazing<br />

<strong>IAESTE</strong> experience, <strong>the</strong> card didn’t move to Colombia<br />

but finally and thankfully arrived in Hamburg early in<br />

2013.<br />

Postages from all around <strong>the</strong> world were cut and<br />

pasted again in <strong>the</strong> card, melancholy, laughs and hangovers<br />

were coming out of it without even having read<br />

what all of <strong>the</strong> people had written on it. It is such an<br />

honour to have met you all and to be able to say I have<br />

some many wonderful friends all around <strong>the</strong> world.<br />

<strong>IAESTE</strong>, Serbia, and all of <strong>the</strong>se fantastic people are<br />

<strong>the</strong> proof that life is even more precious if you’re surrounded<br />

by nice, unconditional friends. Those memories<br />

can never be taken away from me and that is <strong>the</strong><br />

most valuable treasure that I’ll take to <strong>the</strong> grave. Thank<br />

you all for that. Abrazos!<br />

The world loves us and supports us!!!!<br />

Juan<br />

14 14


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15


Alumni<br />

N etwork<br />

Interview with <strong>IAESTE</strong><br />

Vietnam Alumnus Dinh Duong<br />

on his traineeship in <strong>the</strong> UK<br />

16<br />

Is your job now similar to <strong>the</strong><br />

work you did when you were<br />

a trainee through <strong>IAESTE</strong> program?<br />

I am developer for FPT software.<br />

And it is my major from <strong>the</strong> university<br />

and from <strong>IAESTE</strong> internship<br />

trained me.<br />

What did “<strong>IAESTE</strong>” mean in your<br />

mind when you were a student<br />

at Thai Nguyen University? Did<br />

you have any <strong>IAESTE</strong> dreams at<br />

that time?<br />

Of course, it meant much to me!<br />

At <strong>the</strong> second year at university, I<br />

met some foreign students. I talked<br />

to <strong>the</strong>m so much. They gave<br />

me information about <strong>IAESTE</strong>. After<br />

that, I tried my best to improve<br />

my English and techniques to be<br />

satisfied with <strong>IAESTE</strong> and at <strong>the</strong><br />

third year I had chance to go to<br />

UK through <strong>IAESTE</strong> program. I just<br />

wanted to go abroad. That was my<br />

dream.<br />

Why did you choose <strong>IAESTE</strong> to<br />

apply for your internship?<br />

It is not too difficult for students like<br />

me to apply. It is not trained in English, but trained in techniques, especially<br />

information technology major. So that, I thought that <strong>IAESTE</strong><br />

would be suitable for me to apply. My teacher as well as some friends<br />

also told me that it would be very good for me to go abroad through<br />

<strong>IAESTE</strong>.<br />

Who helped you to gain <strong>the</strong> internship through <strong>IAESTE</strong>? And how<br />

about <strong>the</strong> role of <strong>IAESTE</strong> Vietnam? Were <strong>the</strong>re any difficulties in<br />

<strong>the</strong> procedure or o<strong>the</strong>r aspects?<br />

That time, Dr. Phu, Miss. Hien and some staffs in my college helped<br />

me to complete some documents to send from Vietnam to UK. <strong>IAESTE</strong><br />

Vietnam played a big role in my internship. They helped me to prepare<br />

my documents for visa and send my offer to <strong>IAESTE</strong> UK also.<br />

And <strong>the</strong> most difficult thing is <strong>the</strong> procedure. It was hard for me to<br />

wait for my result.<br />

When and where you began your internship through <strong>IAESTE</strong> program?<br />

How long did it take?<br />

I began my internship at Cardiff University, Wales, UK from 08/2009 to<br />

11/2009. It lasted three months.<br />

Where and with whom you stayed in your internship?<br />

At <strong>the</strong> first month, I stayed at dormitory with my friend coming from<br />

Korea. The third month I stayed with an Australian friend. And <strong>the</strong>re<br />

were also many international friends coming from Germany, Hungary,<br />

<strong>the</strong> US and o<strong>the</strong>r countries <strong>the</strong>re.<br />

How was your internship? Did you get much knowledge or experience<br />

related to your major at college?<br />

Awesome! I got so much knowledge about my major. I had also experience<br />

in doing some very good techniques<br />

in my major. And <strong>the</strong> supervisor as<br />

well as 2 Vietnamese lecturers, <strong>the</strong>y were<br />

very good to me and <strong>the</strong>y were always<br />

willing to help me so much in my techniques.<br />

How about exchange culture?<br />

I did not care so much. I just stayed with<br />

some foreigners, not many British people,<br />

so I did not know much about English customs.<br />

About festivals I took part in, <strong>the</strong>y<br />

were so great and modern because of <strong>the</strong>ir<br />

having a lot of games. I had chance to go<br />

to Oxford University and castles. I could<br />

understand clearly about <strong>the</strong> history of<br />

castles and maybe <strong>the</strong> history of <strong>the</strong> UK.<br />

The foods were good. Actually, I went to<br />

<strong>the</strong> supermarket and bought some things<br />

to cook for myself. Sometimes, I invited<br />

some friends to my room. They told me<br />

that <strong>the</strong>y really loved all foods I cooked.<br />

What is <strong>the</strong> most memorable memory<br />

in your internship?<br />

The last dinner! Many international<br />

friends came to my room to cook. Everybody<br />

had to cook <strong>the</strong>ir country’s traditional<br />

food by <strong>the</strong>mselves; <strong>the</strong>refore, on<br />

<strong>the</strong> table <strong>the</strong>re were so many traditional<br />

foods from many places around <strong>the</strong> world.<br />

When your internship was about to end, how did you feel?<br />

Honestly, I felt missing home. I had also ano<strong>the</strong>r different feeling that<br />

I do not know how to say. That was big contradiction, a half of me<br />

wanted to come back Vietnam. In contrast, a half wanted to stay in<br />

UK.<br />

You want to return <strong>the</strong> time of your internship, don’t you?<br />

Of course, yes. That time I had many very good friends and unforgettable<br />

memories. If I had chance, I would comeback England again.<br />

Do you keep in touch with your friends and colleagues in your<br />

internship?<br />

Of course, yes. I contact with <strong>the</strong>m by Facebook, I had so many<br />

friends <strong>the</strong>re. On some vacations of my friends’ country like Christmas<br />

or some special days, I send messages to <strong>the</strong>m. Sometimes, I login<br />

Facebook to send some messages to <strong>the</strong>m and post something on<br />

<strong>the</strong>ir wall.<br />

Did you attend any activities of <strong>IAESTE</strong> generally and <strong>IAESTE</strong><br />

Vietnam particularly?<br />

Yes, I did. ICC is <strong>the</strong> official office of <strong>IAESTE</strong> Vietnam. ICC has one English<br />

club to help all Vietnamese students practice English to gain <strong>the</strong><br />

internship through <strong>IAESTE</strong> and I was one of <strong>the</strong> first founders of ICC<br />

English club. I have been also a volunteer of <strong>IAESTE</strong> Vietnam. I attended<br />

many programs of <strong>IAESTE</strong>. For instance, I went with Dr. Phu<br />

to some meetings at some universities in Vietnam to talk about my<br />

<strong>IAESTE</strong> experience. I did also encourage students from those schools<br />

to apply for <strong>IAESTE</strong> internship. When <strong>the</strong>re were interviews for those


Do you want to gain any internship through <strong>IAESTE</strong> program for<br />

Master?<br />

<strong>IAESTE</strong> helps me improve my techniques, not <strong>the</strong> whole process to<br />

get a Master degree; <strong>the</strong>refore <strong>the</strong> scholarship would be better.<br />

Generally, how important and meaningful <strong>IAESTE</strong> is to your career<br />

as well as your life?<br />

It is <strong>the</strong> most important thing! It brings me many opportunities to<br />

get internship. Thanks to <strong>IAESTE</strong>, I had chance to go to England not<br />

only once time but one more time in 2010 for ten days for an internship<br />

in research and I was a part of software researchers. Generally,<br />

<strong>IAESTE</strong> improved my English, my techniques in such a wonderful way!<br />

<strong>IAESTE</strong> bring me a good base for such a good career like I own now.<br />

Use only 3 words to describe <strong>IAESTE</strong>!<br />

Amazing, unforgettable, thanks!<br />

who wanted to get <strong>IAESTE</strong> internship, I came to talk with <strong>the</strong>m to<br />

make <strong>the</strong>m more confident to complete <strong>the</strong>ir interview well.<br />

How about your support for <strong>IAESTE</strong>?<br />

I just share my experience. I created a Facebook group that helps me<br />

to collect o<strong>the</strong>r students coming from not only Vietnam but also o<strong>the</strong>r<br />

countries who want to know about <strong>IAESTE</strong> Vietnam. I connect <strong>the</strong>m<br />

to give <strong>the</strong>m information, so that <strong>the</strong>y can understand more about<br />

each o<strong>the</strong>r, and <strong>the</strong> most important, understand about <strong>IAESTE</strong>.<br />

Tell about your work as an admin of <strong>IAESTE</strong> Vietnam page on Facebook?<br />

The first, I always keep anyone post everything in English. I also manage<br />

<strong>the</strong> comments and I have had some o<strong>the</strong>rs admins to help me to<br />

grow <strong>the</strong> group more active. And that group may be a good place to<br />

public all information related to <strong>IAESTE</strong>.<br />

What do you want to say to <strong>IAESTE</strong>?<br />

Thanks!<br />

How about your hope and wishes for <strong>IAESTE</strong>?<br />

I hope <strong>IAESTE</strong> generally and <strong>IAESTE</strong> Vietnam particularly can bring<br />

many students to exchange from o<strong>the</strong>r countries to Vietnam and<br />

<strong>IAESTE</strong> Vietnam will bring more students from Vietnam to go abroad.<br />

And I hope that <strong>IAESTE</strong> will grow day by day. Hope that you will have<br />

chance to get an internship through <strong>IAESTE</strong>. Try your best; <strong>the</strong> chance<br />

will come to you.<br />

Would you mind helping <strong>IAESTE</strong> by connecting some enterprises<br />

you know?<br />

Yes, I did, but not successful yet.<br />

Interview by Bui Thanh Huong,<br />

volunteer of <strong>IAESTE</strong> Vietnam<br />

17


Alumni<br />

N etwork<br />

Interview with <strong>IAESTE</strong><br />

Vietnam Alumnus Giap Van Truong on his<br />

traineeship to Malaysia<br />

Is your job now similar to <strong>the</strong> work you did when you were a trainee<br />

through <strong>IAESTE</strong> program?<br />

I am now a staff at Samsung Electronics Vietnam. I work as a programmer<br />

and developer, just like all what I did when I was a trainee through <strong>IAESTE</strong><br />

program.<br />

What did “<strong>IAESTE</strong>” mean in your mind when you were a student?<br />

The first time I heard about <strong>IAESTE</strong> was when I was 19 years old. I didn’t<br />

know what <strong>IAESTE</strong> meant. However, at that time, I dreamt of going<br />

abroad.<br />

Why did you choose <strong>IAESTE</strong> to apply for your internship? By whom<br />

you know about <strong>IAESTE</strong>?<br />

I thought that <strong>IAESTE</strong> can carry out my dream. One day in February 2010,<br />

I met Mr. Dinh Duong, who was a Vietnamese Alumni through <strong>IAESTE</strong><br />

program and volunteer of <strong>IAESTE</strong> Vietnam also. He told me that: “<strong>IAESTE</strong><br />

is very interesting. <strong>IAESTE</strong> would make your dream come true! You should<br />

get out of Vietnam to carry out your dream”.<br />

Who helped you to gain <strong>the</strong> internship through <strong>IAESTE</strong>? And how<br />

about <strong>the</strong> role of <strong>IAESTE</strong> Vietnam? Did you have any difficulties?<br />

About difficulty-it was myself. I used to think about culture shock. Three<br />

months living away from home was a big challenge, but I decided to apply<br />

for <strong>the</strong> internship through <strong>IAESTE</strong> program. I had to make some documents,<br />

visa, and passports and <strong>IAESTE</strong> Vietnam helped me to complete<br />

all to gain <strong>the</strong> internship. All staffs as well as volunteers of <strong>IAESTE</strong> Vietnam<br />

encouraged me a lot. Mr. Duong helped me to improve my English and<br />

gave me some necessary directions.<br />

How long did your internship last? Which company you worked for?<br />

It lasted three months from July 1st to October 1st, 2010. I worked at Grid<br />

Computing Lab of USM - University Sains Malaysia.<br />

Where did you stay in your internship?<br />

Actually, I just shared my room at hostel with a Mongolian man coming<br />

from IT University in <strong>the</strong> capital city of Mongolia. But I did stay with some<br />

Japanese, Indian, Jordan, Korean guys at <strong>the</strong> same building. At <strong>the</strong> hostel,<br />

I could use all necessary machines. There was also a watching room<br />

where international friends came to watch films or football.<br />

How was your internship? Did you get much knowledge or experience<br />

related to your major at college?<br />

Great! I got precious living skills and experience. The way managers treated<br />

me, <strong>the</strong> way I worked, just like industrial time. I tried to go to work on<br />

time and be careful in my work.<br />

How about exchange culture?<br />

The first thing I could realise was “culture shock”! The food, <strong>the</strong> wea<strong>the</strong>r<br />

was strange. In Malaysia, <strong>the</strong>re were some guys I met treated me so well.<br />

What is <strong>the</strong> most memorable memory in your internship?<br />

The most interesting thing I remember was to get to <strong>the</strong> office and had a<br />

little accident. I bent down to take something, <strong>the</strong>n I stood up and hit my<br />

head into <strong>the</strong> table. Suddenly, I said a Vietnamese sentence, which made<br />

me remember deeply where I come from at that far place.<br />

When your internship was about to end, how did you feel?<br />

I miss my family and country. The most important thing I realised was also<br />

<strong>the</strong> biggest questions: “What is <strong>the</strong> meaning of life? Why I do this internship?<br />

What I will do in <strong>the</strong> future”<br />

You want to return <strong>the</strong> time of your internship, don’t you?<br />

Really want, but no way!<br />

18<br />

Did you attend any activities of <strong>IAESTE</strong>?<br />

I attended <strong>IAESTE</strong> computer science class, <strong>IAESTE</strong> culture night, <strong>IAESTE</strong><br />

Day, <strong>IAESTE</strong> meetings. From those activities, I had many international<br />

friends. We talked to each o<strong>the</strong>r about <strong>the</strong> foods of each country, Vietnamese<br />

foods of course and o<strong>the</strong>r things like custom and festivals.<br />

How about your support for <strong>IAESTE</strong>?<br />

I used to be a volunteer of <strong>IAESTE</strong> Vietnam. I always support for <strong>IAESTE</strong><br />

with all my heart. I do everything I can do for <strong>IAESTE</strong> members; <strong>the</strong> people<br />

who want to carry out <strong>the</strong>ir dreams and join <strong>IAESTE</strong>.<br />

Do you want to gain any internship through <strong>IAESTE</strong> program for<br />

Master?<br />

I do, master is one of my dreams. If I can get master degree, I will do all <strong>the</strong><br />

ways I get, by <strong>IAESTE</strong>, by all means.<br />

How important and meaningful <strong>IAESTE</strong> is to your career as well as<br />

your life?<br />

Very important and meaningful! <strong>IAESTE</strong> has brought to my life precious<br />

things: English, living skill, experience and open environment. Thanks to<br />

my internship in Malaysia through <strong>IAESTE</strong> program, I had a very impressing<br />

point to write in my CV for getting new job after graduating from<br />

university. The internship illustrated <strong>the</strong> time I dared to live outside my<br />

country and showed my experience in such an industrial working environment.<br />

Use only 3 words to describe <strong>IAESTE</strong>!<br />

Great, Great and Great!<br />

What you want to say to <strong>IAESTE</strong>?<br />

Thank you <strong>IAESTE</strong> so much!<br />

How about your hope and wishes for <strong>IAESTE</strong>?<br />

Normally, I hope that <strong>IAESTE</strong> will always have a good future. Besides, hope<br />

that <strong>IAESTE</strong> will open more, so that more and more Vietnamese students<br />

like me will have opportunities to be trainees through <strong>IAESTE</strong> program.<br />

Could you help <strong>IAESTE</strong> open more by connecting enterprises you<br />

know?<br />

I am now just a staff of Samsung. But if it is possible, I always hope for<br />

that.<br />

Interview by Bui Thanh Huong,<br />

volunteer of <strong>IAESTE</strong> Vietnam


A lumni<br />

<strong>IAESTE</strong> Alumnus Thomas Hughes<br />

on his life and traineeship in Sweden in 1960<br />

N etwork 19<br />

My name is Thomas A. Hughes and I was born<br />

in Rockaway Beach, NY, in 1933. I attended<br />

Regis High School (scholarship only, private,<br />

Catholic) and Holy Cross College, Worcester,<br />

MA, from which I received a B.S. in physics in 1955.<br />

After college I joined <strong>the</strong> US Marine Corps as a 2nd<br />

Lieutenant and served for three and a half years as a Naval<br />

Aviator and flight instructor. I returned to academia at Marquette<br />

University and subsequently Vanderbilt University. I<br />

received my PhD in <strong>the</strong>oretical nuclear physics in 1965 from<br />

Vanderbilt and was awarded a postdoctoral appointment at<br />

<strong>the</strong> Bartol Research Foundation of <strong>the</strong> Franklin Institute in<br />

Swarthmore PA. During this time I authored a number of<br />

papers in nuclear physics.<br />

In 1967 I joined <strong>the</strong> Scientific Center of <strong>the</strong> IBM Corporation<br />

in Houston, Texas, and pursued research and development<br />

in Power System Engineering and computer applications.<br />

This work involved security analysis for real time<br />

systems at <strong>the</strong> Sou<strong>the</strong>rn Company’s (a joint partner) electrical<br />

grid and <strong>the</strong> development of computer algorithms to determine<br />

<strong>the</strong> stability of <strong>the</strong> grid in <strong>the</strong> case of line fault outages.<br />

A number of papers were published in IEEE/Power Systems<br />

as a result of this work. In 1976, I transferred to <strong>the</strong> Scientific<br />

Center in Palo Alto, CA, and managed research in an<br />

advanced database project. During this time I taught physics<br />

and ma<strong>the</strong>matics as an adjunct professor at a number of local<br />

colleges, which I continued to do after retiring from IBM in<br />

1991.<br />

In 1998, my wife and I moved to Arroyo Grande CA and<br />

I taught, as an adjunct professor of ma<strong>the</strong>matics at The California<br />

Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo. I am<br />

now fully retired and have taken up o<strong>the</strong>r pursuits, such as<br />

political cartooning and maintenance of a web site on political<br />

and cultural <strong>issue</strong>s. My wife and I travel and bicycle both<br />

in <strong>the</strong> United States and Europe. I also play tennis as fits my<br />

age.<br />

In my first year of graduate school at Marquette University,<br />

I saw a bulletin in a science magazine concerning <strong>the</strong><br />

<strong>IAESTE</strong> program. I applied and requested an assignment to<br />

Stockholm Sweden.<br />

When I went to Metallografiska Institutet in Stockholm,<br />

my experience with physics was primarily through understanding<br />

<strong>the</strong> principles and <strong>the</strong>ory of science. I had never<br />

been in an actual research environment before. But I soon<br />

learned about <strong>the</strong> excitement of investigating physical properties<br />

that no one had before seen. Dr. Hellmut Fischmeister.<br />

The director of <strong>the</strong> Lab provided a research oriented environment<br />

that helped me in my future scientific research. He<br />

eventually retired as director of <strong>the</strong> Max Planck Institute for<br />

Metals Research at Stuttgart and lives in his native Austria.<br />

I think <strong>IAESTE</strong> provides an even more positive influence<br />

to young technically proficient students today than <strong>the</strong>y did<br />

in 1960. The international scope is amazing. And <strong>the</strong> number<br />

of countries involved is wonderful.<br />

19


Alumni<br />

N etwork<br />

<strong>IAESTE</strong> Alumnus Emmanuel Garuz<br />

on his traineeship in Switzerland<br />

After finishing my first experience abroad, an Erasmus<br />

in Italy, I knew I wanted to try again that<br />

exciting feeling of being on your own, getting<br />

to know new people, new cultures and to fall in<br />

love with your new home.<br />

Initially I was not acquainted with <strong>IAESTE</strong>, but after<br />

getting back to Panama, and asking <strong>the</strong> local “international<br />

relationships office” of my University how could I<br />

repeat this amazing experience, <strong>the</strong>y told me about this<br />

outstanding idea of internships abroad.<br />

My first task for applying was to show <strong>the</strong> incoming<br />

trainees a bit of my country, help <strong>the</strong>m getting around,<br />

and have fun with <strong>the</strong>m! Who could have thought that<br />

part of <strong>the</strong> requirements to get a job in an international<br />

company would be to have fun in your own country?<br />

Well, yes! It was exactly that. I went out with <strong>the</strong>m, I<br />

showed <strong>the</strong>m all <strong>the</strong> places I knew, suddenly we started<br />

going to places where I was never been before! And it was<br />

spectacular!<br />

But <strong>the</strong> best part was about to come, a year passed,<br />

and it was time for me to apply. The <strong>IAESTE</strong> offers came,<br />

and <strong>the</strong>re was one for me, a Swiss company called EMPA<br />

was offering a long term internship (9 months) for an<br />

Electrical Engineer. I always wanted to learn German, be<br />

abroad for a long time, and luckily one of <strong>the</strong> trainees<br />

that went to Panama was from Switzerland and was living<br />

20 minutes away from <strong>the</strong> place I was about to be send<br />

to. It was just perfect. I applied, in a couple of weeks I<br />

received a confirmation of acceptance, and got everything<br />

ready to travel.<br />

Coming to Switzerland was better than imagined, <strong>the</strong><br />

most polite people you can find, amazing organisation for<br />

everything, everywhere, and nice cold wea<strong>the</strong>r (yes after<br />

living all your life in a humid hot tropical wea<strong>the</strong>r as in<br />

Panama, you get bored!).<br />

At <strong>the</strong> beginning, one of <strong>the</strong> most shocking things was<br />

<strong>the</strong> prices. But after <strong>the</strong> first payment, you really start<br />

enjoying it. I went to all trips I could, that were organised<br />

by <strong>the</strong> <strong>IAESTE</strong> group, travelling around Switzerland with<br />

many o<strong>the</strong>r trainees, and making really nice friendships.<br />

Ano<strong>the</strong>r incredible experience was when we received<br />

an invitation to take part in <strong>the</strong> “<strong>IAESTE</strong> – Get toge<strong>the</strong>r<br />

Zagreb”, something we couldn’t let go. And indeed, Croatia<br />

is great! The organisers did an amazing job, we went to<br />

castles, bars, restaurants, and we even had time for wellness!<br />

It was a really nice opportunity to meet <strong>IAESTE</strong><br />

trainees from all around Europe. The diversity of nationalities<br />

and cultures is unimagined, is for sure something<br />

you should experience if you haven’t had <strong>the</strong> opportunity<br />

yet.<br />

Recently I received a visit from <strong>the</strong> friends I made in<br />

Panama (<strong>IAESTE</strong> trainees that where <strong>the</strong>re <strong>the</strong> year before).<br />

We had a lot of fun, great memories came to our<br />

minds, and hopefully I will be visiting <strong>the</strong>m soon in <strong>the</strong>ir<br />

countries!<br />

Thank you <strong>IAESTE</strong>!<br />

20


Ali Khan on his traineeship<br />

in Tokyo, Japan<br />

A lumni<br />

N etwork<br />

My name is Ali Khan and I am from Pakistan.<br />

I am currently a final year bachelors in<br />

mechanical engineering student at NUST<br />

PNEC in Karachi Pakistan. I first learned<br />

about <strong>IAESTE</strong> when I was in second semester through a<br />

senior of mine in college. Since <strong>the</strong>n I have been actively<br />

involved in <strong>the</strong> local committee of <strong>IAESTE</strong> Pakistan sou<strong>the</strong>rn<br />

chapter.<br />

After becoming a part of <strong>IAESTE</strong> Pakistan at PNEC<br />

I assisted our National Secretary Dr Ali Hassan with <strong>the</strong><br />

daily chores of <strong>IAESTE</strong> Pakistan at PNEC. We publicised<br />

<strong>IAESTE</strong> internship across NUST PNEC campus and assisted<br />

students requiring information regarding <strong>IAESTE</strong>.<br />

I went to Tokyo, Japan last summer from June 28th to<br />

August 28th I did my internship at Tokyo Institute of technology<br />

in Takahashi labs. The experience was technically intriguing<br />

at <strong>the</strong> same time filled with so much fun. The project<br />

that I worked on was an ongoing mondialago project<br />

where we tested and evaluated a refrigerator that worked on<br />

evaporative cooling techniques to cool a refrigerated space.<br />

The design was really novel and <strong>the</strong> project was for a really<br />

good cause namely to help a Nepali village to store food<br />

during off harvest season. The most inspiring part that I<br />

tried to take in my life was <strong>the</strong> Japanese work ethics.<br />

The <strong>IAESTE</strong> committee at Pakistan is primarily a one<br />

unified body. Though a lose distinction exists between <strong>the</strong><br />

nor<strong>the</strong>rn and sou<strong>the</strong>rn bodies. I have served in <strong>the</strong> sou<strong>the</strong>rn<br />

local committee for <strong>the</strong> last 2 years; most of what I have<br />

done has involved spreading and spanning <strong>the</strong> <strong>IAESTE</strong><br />

message across our college. It has been a really fulfilling experience<br />

we are trying to spread our wings in <strong>the</strong> region and<br />

so far things are running around in <strong>the</strong> right direction.<br />

<strong>IAESTE</strong> had a really positive impact on my life. It exposed<br />

me to different cultures, technology and gave me<br />

chance to see different cities that I wouldn’t have o<strong>the</strong>rwise.<br />

But <strong>the</strong> best bit of all was that it introduced me to so<br />

many great people that continue to contribute positively<br />

in my life.<br />

I am involved now more than ever, we are currently<br />

working on making our national website more userfriendly<br />

and more informative. The <strong>IAESTE</strong> chapter is<br />

undergoing due process to get a former shape in our college.<br />

Hopefully starting this year students at my college<br />

will have more opportunities for internship abroad than<br />

in previous years.<br />

<strong>IAESTE</strong> holds a paramount importance in this day and<br />

age primarily because of its ability in providing a huge platform<br />

for cultural exchange from all over <strong>the</strong> world while at<br />

<strong>the</strong> same time it stimulates technical growth for students<br />

looking forward to hone <strong>the</strong>ir technical skills.<br />

<strong>IAESTE</strong> in Pakistan is getting bigger in size with more<br />

universities and colleges joining in <strong>the</strong> ranks each year.<br />

Moreover under <strong>the</strong> leadership of <strong>the</strong> national secretary Dr<br />

Ali Hassan, <strong>IAESTE</strong> Pakistan boosts itself one of <strong>the</strong> largest<br />

platform for exchange of students for internship in <strong>the</strong><br />

country. On a personal level working for <strong>IAESTE</strong> Pakistan<br />

has been one of <strong>the</strong> most valuable experiences of my life as it<br />

really has broaden my horizons in so many levels. <strong>IAESTE</strong><br />

really does provide life changing experiences.<br />

21


etwork?How<br />

Alumni<br />

N<br />

can you help?<br />

In Your Country:<br />

• Become an <strong>IAESTE</strong> Employer and thus provide an opportunity for at least two students to gain invaluable<br />

international experience.<br />

• Attend reunion events in your area.<br />

• Assist with <strong>the</strong> reception of foreign trainees in your area (e.g. offering accommodation, acting as a<br />

contact person etc.)<br />

• Promote <strong>the</strong> <strong>IAESTE</strong> programme to any undergraduate students that you know.<br />

Internationally:<br />

• Help <strong>IAESTE</strong> grow and develop by donating to <strong>the</strong> association.<br />

• Make your company a Global Sponsor and gain access to a worldwide network of Scientists, Engineers<br />

and Architects.<br />

In <strong>the</strong> Alumni Network:<br />

• Advertise your companies job vacancies on <strong>the</strong> Alumni Network and gain access to skilled, qualified<br />

engineers and scientists<br />

• Provide content/manage discussions and forums on <strong>the</strong> <strong>IAESTE</strong> Alumni Network.<br />

• Be a local Alumni contact and organise events in your region.<br />

• Sponsor <strong>IAESTE</strong> events such as <strong>the</strong> 65th Anniversary celebrations<br />

For fur<strong>the</strong>r information on any of <strong>the</strong> above please contact us<br />

Changing lives for 65 years<br />

As a part of our 65th Anniversary celebrations we will be holding a series of events and competitions<br />

throughout 2013. We are currently looking for sponsors for <strong>the</strong> events and are offering a high level of<br />

promotion for your company to our members, trainees and alumni. If you’re interested in sponsoring us,<br />

please send an email to gst@iaeste.org and we will provide you with fur<strong>the</strong>r details.<br />

Give us feedback on <strong>the</strong> IAN<br />

We’re always trying to improve our system and what we can offer our alumni, so if you have any feedback<br />

for us, please do let us know. We’re particularly interested in finding out what you like or don’t like<br />

about our online platform. With your feedback we can improve <strong>the</strong> experience for everyone. Send your<br />

thoughts and comments to alumni@iaeste.org<br />

What’s your <strong>IAESTE</strong> story?<br />

One of <strong>the</strong> things we all have in common is that we all have an <strong>IAESTE</strong> story. If you would like to share<br />

yours with us for publication in our next edition, email me at alumni@iaeste.org We’d love to hear from<br />

you.<br />

22<br />

alumni.iaeste.org


Contacts<br />

Contact Details:<br />

<strong>IAESTE</strong> General Secretary:<br />

Mr Goran Radnovic<br />

general.secretary@iaeste.org<br />

<strong>IAESTE</strong> Alumni Relations Manager:<br />

Mr Bruce Mehlmann-Wicks<br />

alumni@iaeste.org<br />

Bruce<br />

Mehlmann-<br />

Wicks<br />

Skype:<br />

Postal Address:<br />

Main Website:<br />

IAN portal:<br />

iaeste.alumni<br />

<strong>IAESTE</strong> Asbl<br />

P. O. Box 35-05,<br />

11120 Belgrade<br />

Serbia<br />

www.iaeste.org<br />

alumni.iaeste.org<br />

Follow us online<br />

https://www.facebook.com/iaesteofficial<br />

http://www.linkedin.com/groups/<strong>IAESTE</strong>- Alumni-Network-134077<br />

https://twitter.com/<strong>IAESTE</strong><br />

23

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