Dubai Events & Promotions Establishment (Depe) has launched the sixth edition of Dubai Summer Surprises apprenticeship programme adding Palestine to the list of participating countries for the very first time.

An agency of the Department of Economic Development, Depe said the programme covers 11 countries in the Mena region, targeting the best and brightest marketing students from regional universities.

This year, 55 universities from across the Mena region have been invited to nominate their best and brightest students to win a place in the hotly-contested annual internship programme, said the DSS organiser in a statement.

"As in previous editions, a student from each country will win a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work behind the scenes at DSS, and learn from the best practices in marketing and events management that have made Dubai’s summer festival the biggest tourism marketing success in Arab world," noted Laila Suhail, Depe CEO.

Welcoming the addition of Palestine, Suhail said, "The programme was conceived to offer students a chance to witness how an ambitious vision can see fruition through hard work and creativity, as well as offer them valuable real-life professional experiences that will have both immediate and long-term benefits in their chosen field."

"Each year we have welcomed more students into our fold and it is with great pride that we include Palestine among this year’s apprentices," she added.

The five universities from Palestine that were invited include Birzeit University, Bethlehem University, Al Najah University, Arab American University and Al Quds University.
 
"The pool of creative talent in Palestine, especially among the youth, is immense and we were keen to offer a channel to nurture it," she stated.

"We are delighted to have a student from Palestine add a unique perspective to the shared experiences of this year’s group of apprentices and we hope that he or she finds the programme to be creatively challenging, educational and – in the spirit of DSS – a lot of fun,” Suhail remarked.

Since its inception in 2006, the DSS Apprenticeship Programme has grown tremendously from four participating universities in two countries to a highly anticipated programme covering 11 markets and 55 universities in the Mena region.

In addition to debutant Palestine, this year’s roster of participants includes the UAE, Saudi, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Jordan, Qatar, Lebanon, Egypt, and Syria.

On the selection process, Suhail said it all begins with universities and colleges nominating six of their brightest senior students from the Marketing and Business Administration programmes whose credentials are reviewed, along with the contents of an essay the students are asked to submit.

"In this year’s essay, students were asked to share ideas on how they would promote DSS in their local markets. A special jury comprising key DSS staff and marketing experts evaluate the applications and select the winner for each country," she explained.

The apprenticeship includes return flights to Dubai and accommodation at Qamardeen Hotel, a Southern Sun operated property conveniently situated in the Downtown Dubai district.

The winners will work closely with the DSS team throughout their internship to enable them to gain greater exposure during the preparatory stage of one of the biggest tourist and commercial events in the world, she added.-TradeArabia News Service