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Each member country is committed to raising offers of training nationally for foreign IAESTE students. The majority of these placements are for 8-12 weeks in the summer months. These training offers are exchanged on a reciprocal basis with delegations from other member countries at the IAESTE General Conference in mid-January.
The foreign offers received are then matched with student applications; IAESTE regulations require that only one student is nominated for any placement abroad, an indication of how high chances are of being accepted by the foreign employer. Selection of students for placements abroad is the responsibility of your national IAESTE office and procedures will vary from country to country.
Please read the following section carefully to understand how to apply to the IAESTE programme if you are at a university in Scotland, England or Wales.
You should register your interest in IAESTE during the autumn term by completing the registration form at the bottom of this page. Provided you are eligible, your name and address will be entered on a mailing list. You must return your application by the 10 December 2009 deadline. After the IAESTE exchange conference in January those on the mailing list will receive details of all foreign offers of training available to UK students. This list of placements will be issued by 1 February.
Applicants will have until 18 February to apply for positions on the list. You will be required to submit a CV, full course details, and a reference letter from an academic tutor. You will be asked to select up to five of the listed foreign IAESTE placements and to support your choices by short paragraphs explaining why you are interested in those particular training offers.
Inevitably demand will be greater than the supply of training offers. Selection panels will view all applications and one student will be chosen per placement according to qualifications, previous practical experience, language abilities, level of interest and general suitability for the position.
At the end of this selection process, one UK student will have been chosen for each foreign training offer available. But it will still be necessary for IAESTE UK to nominate the selected student for the placement through liaison with the receiving IAESTE organisation.
The international IAESTE deadline for sending nominations abroad is 31 March. If you have been selected for nomination, the actual Offer of Training form detailing the placement you have been chosen for will be sent to you before or by 11 March. You will then be asked to complete a nomination form and to return this with a £100 placement fee (refundable if you are not accepted or circumstances force the foreign employer to withdraw from the programme).
IAESTE UK will then forward your completed application to the IAESTE office in the host country; it will be their responsibility to liaise with the employer and ascertain whether you have been accepted. At this stage, once you have accepted the nomination, we expect you to be committed to the placement you have chosen and cease to follow up any other opportunities that you may have applied for.
Because of the stringent matching process and the fact that ultimately only one student may be nominated for a foreign placement, at least 95% of IAESTE nominees are accepted by foreign employers. If offers are withdrawn this is usually due to economic recession or unforeseen reorganisation within companies.
If this does happen then we will in almost all cases find a suitable alternative placement. Most applicants will be informed by late April/early May whether they have been accepted, at which point IAESTE will advise them on the need for visas, work permits, and other relevant documentation.
IAESTE UK application and selection procedures differ for students at institutions in Northern Ireland. Interested applicants should contact the IAESTE Programme Officer in Belfast at iaesteni@britishcouncil.org or by go to the relevent pages on this web site.
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1 September to 10 December: Initial registration |
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Registration Form will be available to download from 1 September 2009 for placements in 2010 |
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1 February: Date of issue of document listing all training offers available |
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18 February: Deadline for return of full application with list of up to five foreign placements |
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11 March: Date by which IAESTE UK will notify you if you have been selected for nomination for a placement abroad |
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31 March: International deadline for sending completed nominations to IAESTE member countries abroad. |
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April/May: Period in which you will be notified if the foreign employer has accepted you. |
IAESTE organises trainee exchanges on a reciprocal basis. It follows that the number of British students IAESTE UK can send abroad depends entirely on how many placements we can arrange at home for foreign trainees.
We look very favourably on applications from students who make every effort to secure a placement for a foreign trainee in this country. This could be through your department or through friends, family or industry contacts. We would hope that every student applying would at least think about raising a placement.
If you are able to raise a firm offer of training in a company or within your department IAESTE UK will prioritise your application.
If you are studying in Scotland and would like to receive information on raising placements for foreign trainees you should email iaestescotland@britishcouncil.org and we will be pleased to help. Students based in England and Wales should email iaeste@britishcouncil.org.
If you wish to register your interest in the IAESTE exchange programme please complete the Registration Form (when it becomes available) and return it by 10 December. You will receive an email of acknowledgement shortly after. Depending on where you study you should return the form to either the Edinburgh or London office of the British Council. The addresses are given on the form itself.
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