Nine marketing students selected for Apprenticeship Programme

Dubai: Nine meritorious marketing students from colleges and universities in the Middle East, North Africa and the United Kingdom have been selected for this year's edition of the Apprenticeship Programme, the Dubai Summer Surprises (DSS) internship programme for business administration and marketing students.

The selection process included an essay-writing component seeking ideas on making the summer event's 2009 edition bigger and better.

A special jury comprising key management from the Dubai Shopping Festival Office - organisers of Dubai Summer Surprises - in addition to marketing professionals evaluated the applications, selecting one winner from each country.

The third batch of DSS apprentices include Rana Al Amoudi, Stuart Dalmedo, Hani Dalloul, Hasna Sultan, Violla Bader, Mazen Salameh, Abed Al Nasser Dahbour, Hadia Saraya and Sana Hmoud.

This year's edition of the programme has included the UK for the first time .

The DSS Apprenticeship Programme was a key factor in the the Dubai Shopping Festival Office being awarded the Travel and Tourism Excellence Award at the 2008 IPRA Golden World Awards held recently in London.

Rapid growth

From just four universities in two countries in 2006, the DSS Apprenticeship Programme now covers more than thirty educational institutions in nine markets.

South African hotel operator Southern Sun is hosting this year's students for the second consecutive year at the Qamardeen Hotel, where they will stay for the entire two-week internship which begins on July 9.

A comprehensive report and audit of their activities will be required from each student at the end of the internship. They will have to make a comprehensive presentation of their experience, including suggestions and strategies on how to make the next edition of DSS even more appealing.