2006 IAESTE UK Trainee of the Year Award goes to Scotland

Cockroaches, lost luggage and rocket engines hardly seem the ideal ingredients to contribute to a life–changing experience. But according to Deborah Suart, winner of the 2006 IAESTE UK Trainee of the Year Award, that’s just what they did.

Deborah, a final year Aeronautical Engineering student at the University of Glasgow, won the prestigious award for a written account of her experience at the Moscow Aviation Institute and the humorous depiction of the personal journey she took towards greater self confidence and independence.

Second prize was awarded to Claire Chivers from Cardiff University who undertook a placement in Finland and third prize went to Aditya Gurtu a Bristol University student who spent the summer in India.

Deborah, Claire and Aditya were among eight finalists who had been chosen based on essays they had written about ‘How I benefited from my international training’. They presented their ideas at the British Council Headquarters in London to an invtied audience and panel of judges, which was headed by Professor John King, Executive Director of University Relations and Development at Cardiff University

Deborah’s training included working on both NASA and Russian computer programmes to calculate data about rocket engines. Before taking up the six week placement, 21 year old Deborah had never lived away from her parents or travelled on her own. She said:

'I feel that my IAESTE placement has enriched my life and will benefit me in my future career. I have discovered that I am more independent, I can handle difficult and stressful situations and make the best out of every situation that I can.

'These life lessons have increased my skills in team working, mixing with people from different cultures and forming relationships with people who are completely different from myself. These skills will be put to good use throughout my career as an engineer.'

How do I enter?

To enter the Trainee of the Year Award, you need to have participated in the programme and completed an IAESTE placement abroad. All UK participants are sent details of the competition before they leave for their placements.