Seven of the best and brightest marketing students from across the Middle East have been brought to Dubai as part of Dubai Summer Surprises.
Their mission: to make the region's biggest summer extravaganza even better.
tabloid! had a roundtable discussion with the select few chosen to take part in the DSS Apprenticeship Programme 2007 and discovered these young minds are, themselves, a bagful of surprises.
Here's what they had to say:
Why did you want to join the DSS Apprenticeship Programme?
Mohammad Al Zamil: This will help us enhance our studies and give us an advantage later on when we do get to work eventually.
Jihad Al Khalili: This is the most important event in the Middle East. It's the biggest attraction during the summer so you
want to know how it works and how effective it is, as well as what strategies and methods are used.
How did you feel when you were told you'd won a slot on the programme?
Hend Mahgoub: I couldn't believe it. Then I realised it's great because it will open a new field for me.
Jihad: I was down by the garage door and I got this email message saying congratulations and all that stuff. I literally
jumped all the way from the first floor to the second floor up the stairs screaming, "I won, I won!" It was really so
exciting.
Saheim Khalifa Al Josiman: For us students, coming here and seeing what we've studied all these years happen is just amazing.
What have your experiences been like?
Alaa Alwan: Actually, I thought it was going to be working in the office and it would be like memorising and things like
that. It was all that and more, and it's been fun so far. We have been working with so many interesting people.
Faten Fathallah: It's such fun and we've been to lots of places. Actually, we don't stay in the office that often. We are
always going out, taking notes or, when we're home, we're just writing them down.
Mohammad Al Zamil: The programme is designed in a way to teach you things you really cannot learn from college - they take you to see shows in malls, for example, to see how it grows from planning to implementation, the whole operations aspect.
Mohammad Dagher: What's very interesting is to see how they produce the ads, how they conceptualise them and then see the final material as shown in the media. It's a complicated process and the end result is just amazing.
Saheim Khalifa: It's interesting how they plan activities and brainstorm them. Then when you go to malls and see how it
really goes there, it's very interesting for us to see.
Do you just observe or do you make suggestions?
Alaa: We have to be observant and critical because at the end we will be making a presentation about what we learned and what we can suggest to make DSS better. The challenge for us is to be creative.
Faten: We're supposed to make an evaluation of everything we've seen and come up with, among other things, a communications message and a new slogan. And we have to give creative ideas so they can be used in the future.
How does on-the-job training compare with classroom learning?
Mohammad Al Zamil: When you read a college textbook, you know that this person did this and this and that a certain company did this and that. Here, they will tell you: "We did this", then you go and see the event. What we have learned in the classroom, we see here for real.
Hend: Here, we see the difference between theory and application and we have an input in the whole process - it's empowering.
Jihad: There's a lot we can learn from this - the way marketing is done, and how it really works. Plus, we're getting it from people with years of experience.
Mohammad Al Zamil: I learned a lot in a practical sense. Here, they let us be active participants in the whole process and we even have the chance to have our ideas turned into activities next year. This experience has given me a greater sense of fulfilment and achievement.
Tell us more about your big ideas.
Alaa: I'd like to turn Dubai into a world museum. I will divide the city into different continents and each area will be
themed to reflect the culture of its assigned continent.
Mohammad Al Zamil: My suggestion is to continue introducing new themes each week and I'd like to introduce water surprises.
Jihad: Part of my strategy would be to have an inbound tourist fund that will benefit non-profit organisations around the
world. We take part of the revenue that comes from the DSS and use it to support charities around the world, and educate
people, especially children, about relevant issues such as global warming or cancer.
Saheim Khalifa: My idea is to include more sport-oriented activities during the summer fiesta. We probably need a
high-profile, international, sporting event to attract more tourists.
Mohammad Dagher: I want to introduce exciting and innovative ideas at various airports around the region, to maintain the high awareness about DSS and entice tourists to come to Dubai.
Faten: I want to promote Modhesh and DSS more in the US and Europe, and to have more educational activities that incorporate fun and entertainment. I suggested a roadshow that will have several characters in a play. The script would be brief telling everyone to come to Dubai, but it must have an educational component.
Hend: I'd like to invite travel agents to come to Dubai and see how exciting DSS is. I am sure they will relish the experience and they can, in turn, recommend the city to their clients.
