Dubai, August 23, 2003 -- General Electric Middle East (GE) has provided Middle East students with the opportunity to undergo summer training at its regional headquarters in Dubai, as part of its ongoing support for higher education in the region. GE's initiative, now in its fourth consecutive year, allows students studying at the American University of Dubai (AUD), American University of Sharjah (AUS) and American University of Beirut (AUB) to gain work experience at the leading innovation and technology provider.
Carol Houser, Director of Community Relations - School of Business and Management, AUS said of the summer programme: "GE's role has been instrumental to the success of our summer internship programmes. Their support by providing hands-on experience to our students over the past few years has been a tremendous contribution to their education and we look forward to continuing this joint project for years to come."
During the eight-week internship programme at GE, nine students from various streams at the three universities received training within GE Industrial Systems and GE Power Systems, two of the company's leading businesses in the Middle East. The trainees from AUS, AUD and AUB, studying in various fields including Finance, Management Information Systems, Information Technology, B-Commerce, International Relations and Engineering, were involved in several diversified projects, designed to allow them to link their academic knowledge with experience in the workplace.
Commenting on GE's initiative, Abdullah Taibah, Corporate Regional Executive, GE Middle East said: "We are very proud to play an active role in preparing students for their career paths. The internship programme has proved to be mutually beneficial for both GE and the trainees - students have the opportunity to apply their knowledge to real-life working situations in a large corporation like GE while we are able to nurture the job experience of some students and identify local talent in the region."
For the duration of the summer internship programme, students were assigned diversified assignments to complete, in addition to special projects for which the students take ownership. GE's interns this summer completed projects related to the two businesses including SMS implementation, resource optimisation, finance/ marketing and integration of information on acquisitions. GE's previous co-operation with the summer internship programme has resulted in major contributions to its businesses including new, creative solutions, which were achieved through an exchange of ideas with the interns.
Fatima Sayid, a UAE national student studying engineering at AUS said of her participation in the programme: "Training at GE for the summer has been rewarding - it has given me the opportunity to gain hands-on experience at one of the largest multinational companies in the world, preparing me for my career. Now that I have a better understanding of the constraints which exist in the real working environment, alongside my studies I will make a special effort to learn how to deal with them to achieve the desired end-result in the workplace."
GE's co-operation with the universities over the past four years has also provided the opportunity for business and management students at AUS to visit the GE Medical Systems manufacturing facility in Paris, where a range of innovative diagnostic imaging equipment has been developed to serve the healthcare industry. The participating students have benefited greatly from the international study tours, allowing them to gain exposure to the business arena in Europe and the U.S. and witness first-hand the business operations of corporations such as GE.
The joint internship programme between GE and local educational institutions was initiated by GE Industrial Systems in 2000 and has later extended to GE Power Systems. To date more than 20 students have received training with GE and benefited from the work experience it offers.
GE has been active in the Gulf since 1933. Its activities in the region are conducted through direct presence, joint ventures, strategic alliances, and a wide network of distributors. GE has completed strategic projects in various hi-tech industrial sectors, defence-related contracts and major infrastructure developments.
GE is a diversified technology, manufacturing and services company based on more than a century of achievement and innovation. Today, it is the only company listed in the Dow Jones Industrial Index that was also included in the original listing of 1896. GE operates in more than 100 countries and employs nearly 300,000 people worldwide.
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