Andrew MacLaren with the Emirates team at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai
Andrew MacLaren with the Emirates team at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai
Emirates Airlines is continuing to strengthen its relationship with Strathclyde Business School by more than tripling the number of student placements it funds for the Dubai Airshow. The airline has agreed to increase its intern intake for the biennial Dubai air show from 30 students to 100.
The Dubai Airshow is run by Emirates and sees the largest business to business capital exchange in the aviation industry.
In 2009 the relationship between Emirates and SBS was strengthened and formalised at the same time as SBS decided to incorporate the air show experience into a hospitality and tourism class focussed on intercultural management.
The latest development took place in April when the Department of Management's Andrew MacLaren travelled to Dubai to meet with key members of the Emirates senior management team, returning with a formal agreement to provide 100 student interns for future air shows. Emirates pays for all the students' travel, accommodation, subsistence and recreation costs and the increase to 100 placements has an equivalent value of approximately £260,000 to the business school but, as Andrew says, "In experience terms, this investment by Emirates is invaluable - students get fantastic exposure to a global event and under normal circumstances, students would be highly unlikely to get this kind of access. It's great for CV building and meeting key contacts in the industry."
The internships on offer involve working for 12 days at the Dubai Airshow - the next show is in October 2011. Students will gain management experience, working in corporate hospitality suites, taking care of delegates, from Arab royalty such as the Sheikh of Dubai, Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, and the King of Saudi Arabia, Abdulla bin Aziz Al Saud to African heads of state and global industry leaders.
Emirates has also agreed to offer up to three two-month long internships where students will be involved with the organisation of the air show during the preparation period. These interns will work closely with the management team and gain experience in the departments involved in putting together a large scale event such as the air show. These few hand-picked students will then go on to work at the air show itself, but in more senior roles.
Other internship opportunities were also discussed, with the opportunity for students to travel to Dubai during holidays to work with senior staff at Emirates as and when appropriate. A new graduate training scheme in Dubai will also be available in the future to Strathclyde graduates who will have both the education and industry experience thanks to the internship opportunities agreed last month.
Andrew added, "The Emirates internships for the Dubai Airshow are a great opportunity for both parties; they allow students to gain unparalleled exposure to business and management on an international scale and allow an industry-leading airline to identify talent and create fruitful channels of employment for Strathclyde graduates."
"Emirates will be visiting Strathclyde next Easter to meet the students. It's quite a lengthy run-up to the air show itself - they will be meeting with 1st and 2nd year students who will be in their 2nd and 3rd year when the air show takes place."
Professor Susan Hart, Dean of Strathclyde Business School, said, "It's a huge endorsement of our developing programmes in hospitality and tourism that Emirates has decided to increase its involvement with us. It will be a great learning experience for our students and Andrew has done a great job in negotiating this latest industrial collaboration."