The 10 winners of the Dubai Summer Surprises (DSS) Apprenticeship Programme 2010 arrived in Dubai from across the MENA region on June 26 to begin their two-week internship with the DSS team. The highly successful annual business and marketing apprenticeship programme sees some of the most brilliant young minds from across the region come together to work on the Middle East’s biggest summer tourism extravaganza.
Marking its 5th edition, the award-winning DSS Apprenticeship Programme is joined this year by Asma’a Mohammed Al-Maraghi (University of Bahrain, Bahrain), Yomna Amr Safwat (American University in Cairo, Egypt), Razan Moh’d Nael Al-Masri (University of Jordan, Jordan), Yusra Rashad Nowilaty (Effat University, KSA), Sabeeka Sulaiman Al-Fuzai (American University of Kuwait, Kuwait), Wessam Al Najjar (American University of Beirut, Lebanon), Kapriel Vahan Kalenderian (University of Kalamoon, Syria), Ali Abdullah Bin Saif (Sultan Qaboos University, Oman), Aysha Mohd Al Saleh (Qatar University, Qatar) and Afra Anbar Al Falasi (Dubai Women’s College, UAE).
The winners – for many of whom this trip marks their very first visit to Dubai – expressed great excitement on hearing the itinerary put together to make the best use of their time spent in the city. The 10 students have commenced and will continue to visit several key economic, tourism and corporate entities including the Dubai Economic Department (DED), Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), Foreign Investment Office, Dubai International Airport and Kempinski Hotel Mall of the Emirates over the coming two-weeks, to get an in-depth understanding of the various components that go into creating an event of this scale. Students will stay in the vibrant Downtown Dubai district for the duration of their stay, hosted by Southern Sun Qamardeen Hotel, and will get a chance to visit landmarks such as Burj Khalifa and Dubai Mall, as well as take a trip on the new Dubai Metro, to give them an introduction to the sensational elements that have contributed to building Destination Dubai.
The scheduled student visits will all contribute to imparting valuable training and real-life exposure to best practices in business administration, marketing and events management. The first-hand observation of the organization of DSS will enable the 10 apprentices to present their impressions and creative ideas to the DSS team at the end of their two-week internship, with the aim of incorporating these ideas in future DSS editions. Many of the recommendations of winners from previous editions of the apprenticeship programme have been successfully applied while planning forthcoming editions of DSS.
