Our Approach

The AIESEC approach to enabling young people to discover and develop their potential is a full experience with several stages that is based on a few key principles.
This approach, which comes through the AIESEC Platform, helps to build young people that have the desire and capacity to have a positive impact in society - that is the AIESEC Difference.

AIESEC Experience

The following diagram shows the different steps in the AIESEC experience.
All members go through a formal introduction to the organization and then begin to take on responsibility in some area.
They then have the option to take on leadership, work abroad, or both.
The final step is to head to the future - to take the skills, inspiration, and networks from AIESEC to have a positive impact in society.

This flow and the opportunities within it are reinforced by 5 key principles, that are reflected in all parts of the process. These principles are explained below:

Taking an Active Role
AIESEC will provide the opportunities and some support, but it is ultimately up to the individual to make the most of those opportunities.

Each individual must take responsibility for his/her experience within AIESEC. Each individual must also take responsibility for the organization. It is through the collective efforts and commitments of everyone involved in AIESEC that we are able to provide so many opportunities - some 350 conferences, 3500 work abroad opportunities, and 5000 leadership positions, plus many other activities.

Developing Self-Awareness and Personal Vision
We think young people need more space and support to answer fundamental questions such as "What is important to me?" and "How do I want to contribute to the world?". AIESEC supports young people in clarifying and expanding their ambitions through mentorship, personal vision exercises, an inspiring environment, and providing intense experiences that challenge their view of the world and their role within it.

Increasing Capacity
Through conferences, work abroad opportunities, and the management of our offices, we provide young people with the opportunity to increase theoretical knowledge in a wide-range of functional and soft skills and the opportunity to put it into practice.

Building a Network
People need a network of support that can guide and encourage them towards their vision and goals. Through conferences, learning networks, innovative on-line platforms, and a growing alumni network, AIESEC provides young people with the opportunity to create a strong and global network to support them in their personal and professional pursuits.

Challenging Worldview
Through intense experiences such as conferences, working abroad, and engaging in diverse environments, AIESEC "shakes up" the way young people see the world. A stronger and more holistic view of the world enables them to more easily incorporate new perspectives, see interdependencies, and identify ways to positively impact any given situation.

In short, we are providing young people with experiences that will not only develop their potential as individuals but also help to best direct them, with a clear purpose of having a positive impact on society through their actions.

Our Platform  

The AIESEC platform consists of a number of different opportunities through which an individual creates their own AIESEC experience. This same platform also serves to connect our partner organizations to the talented young people within AIESEC. The main opportunities of the platform are working abroad, learning networks, leadership experience, conferences, and supported self-discovery.

Together with the principles of the AIESEC Approach, this platform is how we give young people the desire and capacity to have a positive impact on society - that is the AIESEC Difference .

Working Abroad - the opportunity to work abroad is the defining element of the platform and is the most intense experience we offer. We enable about 3,500 members to work abroad each year in fields of management, technical, education, and development.

Leadership Experience - through the management of over 700 offices at the local, national, and international level, we provide about 5000 leadership opportunities to our members each year. This provides our members with valuable and practical experience in both hard and soft skills in management and leadership.

Conferences - we organize approximately 350 conferences each year to train and develop our members. These conferences provide the opportunity to practice leadership, gain important trainings, and develop a network.

Learning Networks - through virtual and physical interaction, learning networks enable different stakeholders to come together to develop their skills, knowledge, and networks on topics of interest. Examples of learning network topics include Sustainability, HIV/AIDS, and Entrepeneurship.

The majority of our partner organizations engage with AIESEC through one of these platforms in order to increase their profile, attract top talent to their organization, or to support our efforts in enabling young people to develop and discover their potential.