Aya Jardaneh to Represent Jordan in the DSS Apprenticeship Program 2014

AMMAN, Jordan - July 24, 2014 - PRLog -- The Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE), an agency of the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) and organisers of Dubai Summer Surprises (DSS), announced the names of the 17 students from across the Middle East and North Africa, who have secured a spot in the coveted DSS Apprenticeship Program 2014.

Aya Jardaneh from the University of Jordan will represent the Hashemite Kingdom in the 9^th edition of one of the most sought after destination marketing internships and a highly prestigious component of the world-class DSS festival. This year, the program has grown further to welcome its largest-ever group of apprentices from 17 markets, including the UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Morocco, Sudan, Iraq, Palestine, Syria and first-time participants Libya, Yemen and Tunisia.

H.E Laila Suhail, CEO of DFRE, said: “Jordan is represented in this year’s edition of the DSS Apprenticeship Program by Aya Jardaneh. In her essay, Aya came up with very interesting and fun-filled ways to strengthen the brand awareness of DSS on social media platforms. Her novel ideas complemented her attention to detail and ability to consider all aspects of the marketing plan she has designed. We wish her all the best and look forward to hosting her at the internship.”

Winners will each receive an all-expense-paid trip to Dubai including return flights and a two-week stay at The Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management (EAHM), strategic partners of the program for the last three years. EAHM is one of the world’s leading hospitality business management schools and part of Jumeirah Group, a luxury hotel company and a member of Dubai Holding.

Throughout their stay, students will be attending workshops, visiting key DSS events and tourism landmarks, and meeting leading players behind the Destination Dubai brand.

Winners’ itineraries in the past have included interactions with leading Dubai-based entities that have helped build the city’s world-class tourism offering and global brand cachet, such as Emirates, Emaar Retail, MBC Group, Roads and Transport Authority, Dubai Economic Department and Dubai Cares. This year’s winners can look forward to a similarly impressive agenda of key visits.

Many of the interns who will be on their maiden trip to Dubai will also get the opportunity to visit some of the city’s iconic tourism landmarks, including Burj Khalifa, Dubai Metro, Ski Dubai, Wild Wadi and lots more.

The selection process this year began with each participating university nominating its top six senior students from marketing, business administration, travel and tourism, event management and finance streams. Each student was asked to submit an essay on a topic chosen by the DSS Apprenticeship Program team. This year’s topic was: “What would you do differently for DSS 2014, in terms of promoting and positioning this event for your local market, if you were assigned the position of Chief Marketing Officer for DSS?” A special jury comprising key DFRE executives and other marketing professionals evaluated all the final submissions before shortlisting a winner from each country.

In her winning essay, Aya Jardaneh said: “As Chief Marketing Officer, I would implement a number of promotions in order to engage visitors in my local market during the DSS period. I would install DSS booths at popular spots to distribute booklets to residents and visitors. The booklet would include a DSS puzzle that they can solve in steps by finding pieces at key DSS-events. This would create an unforgettable experience for visitors as they ‘tweet’ or share their special DSS experiences online using the #myDSSpuzzle hashtag. This would also encourage visitors to attend a variety of DSS events with their children and families in order to complete the puzzle and win all-expense-paid trips for the next edition of DSS.”

Commenting on their student’s success in securing a spot in the DSS Apprenticeship Program 2014, Professor Zubi Al-Zubi Dean of the Business School at The University of Jordan- said: “Aya Jardaneh is one of our most promising seniors and we are confident her performance in the DSS Apprenticeship Program will be an outstanding accomplishment. We congratulate her and thank the DSS organizers for this great partnership and for the opportunity they provide Arab students to further their knowledge in their chosen field of study.”

The internship will offer students the tools and resources they need to gain hands-on experience that will not only enhance their theoretical understanding of their chosen field of study, but also its practical applications, as they build a valuable network of potential future employers and corporate mentors.

At the end of the two-week internship, the apprentices will be grouped into teams to present their reflective proposals before the senior management. The presentations will be based on their observations and experiences from the program.

Over the past editions, participating students who have successfully completed the internship and graduated from their respective universities have secured rewarding jobs at prestigious organizations and multinational companies in their home countries and abroad.

Since its launch in 2006, the DSS Apprenticeship Program has grown successfully to its current edition. More than 100 universities were invited to participate this year – a significant increase from the 80 universities representing 14 markets in 2013. The 2014 edition is another step forward in DFRE’s broader strategy to take the DSS Apprenticeship Program global by 2015, when the program will reach its 10-year milestone.