Applications for overseas internships through two international NGOs are on the rise as Shanghai's university students seek to embellish their resumes in the face of increasing job competition.

 

Twice as many candidates compared to last year have applied to AIESEC, an NGO run by university students and formerly known as the Association Internationale des Etudiants en Science, Economiques et Commerciales.

 

The 330 applicants are chasing 80 positions, such as working for PriceWaterhouseCoopers in Frankfurt, Germany, or as a teacher in Turkey teaching Chinese culture.

 

IAESTE, the International Association for the Exchange of Students for Technical Experience, has attracted 200 university students, 30 percent more than last year, according to Guo Hanfang, national secretary of the organization's China branch.

 

"It can really help students to discover and develop their best potential," said Caio Macedo, the former president of AIESEC's Brazilian division now working in Shanghai.

 

Interns must pay for flights but their employers cover living expenses and accommodation.

 

Jiang Tao, a Fudan University graduate student who deferred his studies in 2005 to go on an internship in Alcatel's headquarters in Paris, said he gained from his internship.

 

"The experience made me realize what I want to do with my career," Jiang said "That is worth a one-year absence from my studies."

 

A city human-resource manager, however, said work abroad might not always win through in the job market.

 

"We are concerned more about the requirements of certain positions," said Zhu Jian, who works for Fosun High-Tech. "Traineeships abroad might not be the determining factor in positions like national sales."

 

Social development work is also gaining in popularity with 70 to 80 more people applying for welfare positions in underdeveloped countries than the year before.

 

Some students see the work as a chance for adventure.

 

"I enjoyed very much working with international volunteers to help homeless Indian kids," said Yang Benlong, who had a traineeship last winter with I-India, an NGO in Jaipur, India.

 

The development internships are definitely not a way to make money -- Yang spent about US$1,750 on his trip.

 

(Shanghai Daily April 2, 2007)