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MEPI BIP Alumnae Soumaya Al-Jassem was a guest speaker at a press conference in Kuwait where she had the opportunity to reflect and describe her experience under the MEPI BIP program. Alumna Soumaya Al-Jassem featured
in article
By Eman Al-Awadhi (with photos) KUWAIT, Aug 7 (KUNA) By sponsoring exchange programs, the US Department of State aims to build bridges of education, experience and cultural knowledge between the US and the world, said the US Embassy's Press Attache Mark Stroh. Speaking at a press conference on Sunday on the Middle East Partnership Initiative US Business Internship Program for Young Middle Eastern Women, Stroh said that the program works to help local individuals and groups develop their own potential in the fields of education, politics, women and economics. The conference's guest speaker, Soumaya Al-Jassem, a former participant in the program, described her experience, saying that she spent one month of intensive academic studying at the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University and then three months of internship with a US company.
Al-Jassem said that the program allows Middle Eastern women "to interact professionally with the US corporate sector," adding that she is now trying to implement US corporate principles she learned during her internship at the organization where she is currently employed. She explained that she was part of a group of 40 Middle Eastern women, where they were "motivated by the fact that we (the students) all had the same goals and objectives for ourselves and our countries and we learned to work and think as a group." The former participant stressed the importance of teamwork and appraisal within organizations and institutions, saying that this was yet another thing she came to realize while on the program and was helpful when dealing with people of different personalities. Al-Jassem encouraged young women at the beginning of their careers to enroll in the program as it "gives a competitive edge to young businesswomen who return motivated and with new ideas." Speaking on behalf of the program's local administrator, [AMIDEAST, Country Director Maureen Aldakheel] Soumaya said that recruitment for the second year of the program have commenced and that the program is "a good opportunity for young women to learn about US business and life styles." "One of the goals of the program is to help forge relationships with businesswomen and to commence to build a network," she added.
On application requirements, Aldakheel said that businesswomen must be between 22 and 32 years of age, have an undergraduate degree in business or law, or three years of business experience. Applicants must also attain a minimum TOEFL score of 550, demonstrate flexibility and maturity, commitment to developing the business sectors in their countries and have knowledge of information technology, she said. The director explained that applicants are interviewed by a panel of local business figures, representatives of the US Embassy and a number of organizations in a fair and transparent process. Aldakheel called upon those interested to visit the AMIDEAST website and apply for the program online, noting that the deadline is September 10, 2005. This article is reprinted from the Kuwait News
Agency (KUNA) website: |
