JEDDAH, 19 June 2006 — The Dubai Summer Surprises (DSS) has selected Basma Sabban from Dar Al-Hekma College as the Saudi Arabian representative at the first DSS Apprenticeship Program.
The internship program aims at sharing knowledge and involving a greater number of people by offering outstanding marketing and business administration students opportunities for training and exposure to marketing and events management.
Basma will receive an all-expense-paid trip to Dubai and first-class accommodation at the luxurious Kempinski Hotel Mall of the Emirates to work for DSS which is one of the most successful and high-profile annual events in the region.
On the last leg of their GCC-wide road show, the DSS delegation launched the internship program in Riyadh. The pilot program initially covers Saudi Arabia and Kuwait but plans are under way to expand it to the entire GCC.
In Saudi Arabia, Dar Al-Hekma College was chosen to participate in the program and six marketing students were nominated. A panel of judges then evaluated the candidates based on their academic excellence, quality and originality of submitted essays and their character.
“I consider it both a great honor and privilege to be chosen as the official apprentice from the Kingdom. It’s exciting to be able to work hands-on with the people who have made DSS such a huge success. I will do my best in performing the tasks assigned to me and hope to be an asset to the team,” said Basma, a third-year student at Dar Al-Hekma.
The director of the Business Program at Dar Al-Hekma, Dr. Amani Muhammad, said that the college was one of several in the Kingdom that received a letter from DSS in early May requesting them to nominate students for the apprenticeship. Dr. Amani pursued the offer and encouraged her students to participate. Dar Al-Hekma was then chosen as the only college to participate.
“I selected the six students but their applications were mailed in a sealed envelope to DSS for screening. I really appreciate the students’ efforts because it was during exam time,” she told Arab News. She encouraged the students because it is the college’s aim to encourage and motivate students to go through training and development opportunities.
“We congratulate Basma on her selection as the DSS apprentice from Saudi Arabia. We look forward to welcoming her in Dubai and hope she will learn from this experience and broaden her perspectives on marketing and events management,” said Laila Suhail, DSS executive project director.
Commenting on the program’s potential impact on DSS, she said that it was a great opportunity to learn how to better customize marketing efforts and communications to enhance the appeal of DSS to tourists from the region.
DSS 2006 promises to be a bigger spectacle with a unique package of fun and exciting activities for the entire family. It begins on June 21 and continues until Sept. 1.
