IAESTE: First contention round

Following the international conference in Macedonia, where offers were exchanged between various IAESTE member countries; the first round of offers was released on the official website. A seminar was held at the NLH so as to guide the first-timers through the procedure, rules, regulations and the fine print involved in applying for an offer. The seminar room was jam packed; students clarified their doubts to get a better understanding of the process. Post session, the local committee members answered a range of queries from the aspirants covering aspects such as VISA, resume, expenses, air-ticket, stipends etc.

The contentions were held from 3rd February to 7th February at the IAESTE office.  Like a lull before a storm, the first 4 days were relatively calm and fewer members came to apply for offers. On the last day however, a storm did arrive as close to hundred members crowded at the IAESTE office to apply for offers! The contention time schedule had to be overshot till 8.30 p.m. to accommodate the mad rush, and queue tokens were issued to the members, who waited patiently outside the office. The applicants applied to a range of offers spanning across the globe. From Japan to the UK, the destinations included major countries in Asia, Africa and Europe. The offers were open to students pursuing various streams; common ones like mechanical, electrical, computers etc. and the lesser known ones like design, environment and aerospace.

The application for the contention consisted of three stages

1. Authentication of Xeroxed documents by comparing with   attested/original documents

2. Verification of skills/achievements stated in the fact sheet, using attached proof documents.

3. Online registration

The last day witnessed IAESTE Local Committee members working continuously for hours without a break to ensure a smooth application procedure for the clients. The received applications will hereon be processed, after which they will be sent to an expert panel who will grade the various applications, on basis of academics, relevance, co-curricular and extra-curricular activities, projects and previous training. The results for the first round are expected to be out within 20th February, 2012. If you are intimated on an offer selection, do reply within 24 hours to IAESTE India MIT to avoid getting blacklisted.

Here are a few general reminders and guidelines to be followed in future rounds:

1. Do not bring documents/certificates from before 10th grade, unless they are of state/national level or completely relevant to the nature of the offer.

2. You must have the original/attested copy of any Xerox that you attach. If it is not possible, ensure that you at least bring a scanned picture of it.

3. A Xerox of your valid passport’s front and back page is mandatory, if not produced at time of application; you will have to sign a declaration towards the same.

4. The provisional transcript you attach must contain grades of all the semesters.

5. If there is some skill or course you have learnt on your own (eg. Python, C++,  MATLAB) without any certification, approach a faculty member who possesses those skills, and get an attested letter from him proving your capability.

Best of luck for the first round results! Watch this space for more! Visit the official website at www.iaeste.in for more details.

-Girish Kumar

FOOD IS THE WAY…

Ever dreamt of trying out authentic Serbian dishes? Never really understood why all the hype over Mexico and its spice?  Tired of the ‘exotic foreign dishes’ that most restaurants here so easily stake claim to? Putting rest to all these cravings, it was a night etched in memories eternally- the IAESTE IndiaMIT International Cuisine Night. The event was organized to foster mutual appreciation and respect between various cultures and what better way than the one thing we all love– Food! The event also provided a platform for the local committee to mingle with interns from all over the world. It was also the first event that the new recruits took part in and proved to be an icebreaker that acquainted the newbies with the organization and its goals.

The evening started with the interns cooking special dishes along with the cafeteria staff and the new recruits helping out. At 7.30, the invited dignitaries Dr Alapati Vittaleswar(Deputy Director), Mrs Kumkum Garg (Director, MIT), Mr Ram Mohan Pai (Chief Warden, MIT) and Dr K Raghunandana (Associate Director(PS &PR)), duely graced the event with their honourable presence. They were first introduced to the new LC and kept abreast on IAESTE’s achievements and proceedings, after which they spent time interacting with the interns regarding their stay at Manipal.

The dinner spread was lavish and sumptuous, much beyond expectations– and incorporated various cuisines. The highlight international dishes included Palha– Brazil (a type of chocolate walnut cake),  Sataras– Serbia (A type of mixed vegetable dish), Pico De Galla– Mexico (A crispy wafer topped with an layer of spices, herbs, tomatoes, onions, etc.), Beetroot Soup with egg– Poland, Russian Cream and Salad and Halwa (India – needn’t explain more). And with all due credit to the spice of Mexico, one bite of it, and the literal meaning of ‘eye-watering spice’ becomes evident. The dinner menu was wholesome and with a complete Indian course, adding local flavor to the night. The items included Aloo Paratha, Beans fry, Chutney, Rotis, Veg Pulao, Raitha, Gobi Manchurian, Sambar, Rasam, Curd Rice, Masala Pappad and Kheer. The guests of honour left after their dinner, after which the Local Committee members had their meal with the interns.

The night concluded with a few team-building games including musical chairs, egg race, paper dance, situation enacting and some peppy music and dance moves. The music ranged from Hindi and Punjabi to English and European and was a stage for the best of the best to flaunt their hottest jives. Russians and Portuguese grooving to latest Bollywood hits Chamakh Challo, Twist, Bhaag Dk Bose was indeed a sight to behold. It was heartwarming to see the bond that developed between the interns and the MIT students over such a short evening and will remain friendships for life. After more rounds of introductions and interactions, the event was officially closed with a vote of thanks going out to those responsible for the successful organization and the dignitaries who took time off from their busy schedules.

A new recruit sitting with a Mexican intern translating the Hindi jokes being made, a Russian competing with a Punjabi on a typical Punjabi song, a Polish intern trying all the possible unorthodox ways to win musical chairs and being pushed by the Indian students, were some of the moments of the day to cherish and relive. Loads of pictures were clicked and be rest assured, they will always remain more than just a few megabytes of memory– in fact will be symbolic of racial harmony and redefine the perspectives of cultural diversity now and in years to come. Not to forget, it was an excellent foodie’s night out. Kudos to IAESTE IndiaMIT for the initiative and success of the event!

By,

Girish Kumar

IAESTE India MIT’s membership drive is on!

IAESTE IndiaMIT is opening memberships from 3rd to 8th Oct to apply for international paid technical internships. In view of this, an orientation seminar will be conducted on the 3rd and 4th Oct in NLH 104 & 105 from 5 PM onwards through which one can learn of why an internship is necessary and the reason why an international angle to this would be preferable. This orientation will preferably be for first years, but students of higher years can attend too. Information on the recruitment to work for IAESTE will also be divulged at the orientation.All interested students can attend the same.

Please contact the info desk at NLH or Diljot (90351 18562) or Sukrit (95352 69698) or Ibrahim (90364 97467) for the same.

IAESTE holds its International Evening 2011

IAESTE held its International Evening  at Chaitya Valley View hall this evening. Members of IAESTE , various inters and faculty members from all over Manipal Univesity were present to grace the occasion including the Director Kumkum Garg and Dr. G K Prabhu. The event portrayed various interns blended to our Indian culture and shared the stage with their Indian counterparts.

The event started off by a speech by the faculty adviser followed by a speech by Dr. G K Prabhu who stressed the fact that co-cirricular activities and cultural activates are also important apart form excellence in academics. Dr Kumkum Garg spoke about Indian history and how culture effects each and everyone as an individual. This was followed by a dance performance by students of MCONS depicting ‘Lord Shiva’ the God of vengeance. The participants where dressed up in traditional wear and gave a phenomenal performance. Christine from Norway shared her views about her country and enlightened us about the culture and way of life at Norway. She cleared a few mis-conceptions that were held in the minds of the people about the place and also amused the crowd by throwing in a few really interesting facts.

Followed by her were the foreign exchange students who performed to the famous ‘Jai ho’ which was truly amazing and the audience was thrilled to see such a level of performance from the participants. Delegates from Austria spent some time with the audience telling them about the lakes , rivers and the Alps , the music and more about their country – later they also danced and demonstrated to the waltz as performed in Austria – it was truly graceful and eye pleasing. Students from Manipal Institute of Communication  were also present to perform to a marathi dance which included authentic marathi get-up and full spirited dance performance. BLITZKRIEG gave its ground breaking performance as well which included a mix of songs from various collections and themes. Their performance was truly appreciated as well. This was followed by a fashion show comprising of foreign interns in Indian wear and Indian a few indian counterparts giving them company at the stage.

The event was a huge success with presence of all eminent personalities of Manipal University and faculties. The decoration of the place was taken special care of and guests were served dinner with a wide variety of cuisines. Over the years IAESTE India , MIT has shown a phenomenal growth in Indian students who went abroad for internships and students who come to India for internships. In 2006 less than 20 students from India went abroad for their internships, this figure however at 2011 stands at a little over a 100 students. The same can be said for the students who came to India for their internships.

IAESTE India MIT : From concept to reality!

PRATIBIMB : IAESTE’s ceremony

Pratibimb in Sanskrit means reflection. IAESTE had an amazing event where outgoing
ambassadors and incoming trainees got a chance to interact with each other and they shared their
experience of their internship.

The event was held at the library auditorium and a lot of effort was put into decoration with
lights , sound systems , posters , stickers and more. The lights were perfect , the stage was
decorated and people walking around in crisp suits gave the entire event a very professional
look. The event was graced by the presence of Dr. Vinod Bhatt, the Pro Vice Chancellor, Manipal

University, who was also the Chief Guest for the evening, Dr. G. K. Prabhu, Registrar, Manipal University,
Dr. Kumkum Garg, Director, Manipal Institute of Technology, Dr. Vittaleshwar, Deputy Director,
Planning and Mentor IAESTE IndiaMIT, Dr. K. Raghunandana, Associate Director(PS & PR) and Faculty
Advisor, IAESTE IndiaMIT and Dr. Ramesha C, Associate Director of Student Welfare, MIT. People
were enthusiastic about the event and due credits to Team IAESTE IndiaMIT for pulling off an
awesome event.

On this day IAESTE also revealed their mascot the Hamster! The Hamster that travels around
the world, narrates stories, laughs with interns and communicates with students – it was also
present to be with everybody for the event and grace the event! Certificates were given out to
interns who came to India for their internship as a mark of excellence and appreciation towards
their work and deeds. MITians who went to various parts of the world were also given the
opportunity to talk about their experience with IAESTE and the respective country that they
were sent to – Gitansh Khirbat who was sent to University of Innsbruck , Austria shared his
experience about Austria the culture the way of living and different approach towards things.
Konrad shared his views about being in India , the Indian culture and how they are different from
those back home in Poland. Shashad who went to Japan with Hitachi shared his experience about
his trip – about travelling in the bullet train which he had seen only in pictures and a vast cultural
difference between the two countries! A projector was set up which showed the pictures of the
intern in various countries and the message was clear – these interns were very happy with their
internship , not only did they get to work with international companies with corporate exposure
they also got an opportunity to explore their culture , their way of living , tradition and much
more.

IAESTE gave the interns a great platform to showcase their talents, their experience that they
had in their respective countries it was good to see a mix of culture of people who performed on
Indian dances – waving the national flag. The event was followed by dinner for all the interns
and dignitaries. It was a great evening put together by IAESTE and everything went just as per
plan without any glitch. IAESTE showed that even after the internship is over it aims to maintain
a bond with the interns and assist them with any other thing that they are capable of doing.

Team IAESTE IndiaMIT has exchanged over 800+ students since its inception in 2005 from
across 86 countries and Manipal, by providing Paid Technical Internships to its members.

Overall the event was a grand success and was pulled off well by the team. IAESTE is opening
for its membership soon. Watch out for more!

Round 4 offers!

Round 4 offers have been released.

NON- members can apply too.

Log on to www.iaeste.in to see the offers and other information on how-to-apply.

New offers released.

IAESTE ROUND 3 OFFERS RELEASED!

Applications begin today from 4:30 pm and will be open till 13th.

Click here to view offers