I am going try to not be so critical of AIC because obviously, without them this experience would not have been possible.
About AIC
The Academic Internship Council (AIC) is a partner organization of it’s more well known mother company, The Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE). Basically AIC has branches in many international cities that work with universities from the United States to place students who want to gain international work experience. The AIC branch in Singapore is made up of 2 full time and 4-6 part time employees. I would like to preface that I fully understand how overwhelming this job would get, especially during the most popular summer semester. Shannah, the main AIC director here in SG, is responsible for placing and preparing 100+ students and facilitating our 2-3 month stay.
The program length varies based on each university, mine was 12 weeks of work +/- a few days on the front and back ends. The majority of other students came for 8 weeks, but all arriving and departing at different times. Throughout the summer AIC set up and hosted many events in order to engage students with local culture, activities, and famous city destinations. Some of these were great, but others not so much.
Events
From talking with Shannah and Rachel (another AIC coordinator), these events are always a bit difficult because it is clearly impossible to make everyone happy. Some students don’t want events on the weekend because they would rather spend time traveling to other countries in the region (me). Others did not want to attend the events on weeknights because they were tired from a long day at work. So I empathize with the coordinators, while trying my best to be appreciative of the events planned. Also I did miss a few events because I was out of the country, so oops. These are the few that I went to - ranked!
1. Bum Boat Tour of Marina Bay: Honestly I would not have paid for this myself (I think it was only $10) but am so glad I did it! It was about a 30 min boat ride from Clarke Quay and throughout the bay. Besides getting some great shots of the skyline and up close views of Marina Bay, there was a video/audio playing throughout the ride that gave good background on Singapore. It was like listening to someone read Singapore’s Wikipedia page. It included history that I did not know before and fun facts about the architecture. Overall I would recommend this to someone else and that AIC keep this as a scheduled event. I put it at the top of the list because it was cool cultural activity (compared to others) and it comes at a good value.
2. Farewell at 1 Altitude Rooftop Bar: This has to be one of Singapore’s most iconic destinations. Altitude is a fancy al fresco bar on the roof of a 63 story building, that serves small bites on its cozy outdoor seating where you can listen to live music with the most amazing view in the city. It also offers a dance floor with a DJ as the night goes on. Because of the usual ~$35 cover charge, I waited to go until this AIC event where we got in for free along with a “complimentary” drink. Although the view from the 63rd floor was amazing, I don’t think I would have paid the cover on my own. I know they have other days/deals so I would have probably tried harder to go to one of those if it weren’t for this event.
3. Farewell at 2AM Dessert Restaurant: You can’t really go wrong with dessert. This restaurant was opened by a famous chef and everything was incredibly fancy. It was fun to chat with Rachel and some of the other students I hadn’t seen much because we lived in different locations.
4. “The Village” Play at Esplanade Theatre: This may have been ranked #1 IF it was in english. It was not until the day of the play that the AIC coordinators picked up the tickets and realized this was a Chinese play. The theatre was awesome (and I’m not even a huge fan of plays) and I would love to go back another time when something is being performed in English. On the bright side, there was a screen with subtitles next to the stage. Unfortunately we were seated in the last row of the theatre, making the tiny white writing on the black screen difficult to read, leaving me with a headache for 3 days after. Kinda bummed about this one, but I really love the whole Esplanade area and would definitely recommend it to others. They have an outdoor pavilion with free shows, rotating outdoor art exhibits, fun shopping inside the theatre, and good restaurants with great views surrounding the bay as well.
5. Little India Walking Tour: For me, this was another great experience but I'm not sure I would not have paid for myself. Our tour guide was very sweet and you could tell she enjoyed her job. I can see how Little India would be overwhelming if I didn’t take the tour around. At first it felt like a big maze with people staring at you (my roommate was from Mumbai and she said it is common Indian custom for people to stare… I was not a fan). We went to an authentic South Indian restaurant, learned how to tie a sari, and sampled some Indian desserts. Verdict, I’m glad this was an AIC even and I thoroughly enjoyed it despite how abnormally hot it was that day.
6. Night Safari: Originally I was really excited about this one but it turned out to be a bit of a bust for me. We went on a Friday night, so naturally the place was packed. The line to get on the tram (that you ride through the zoo creating the “safari” like effect) was an hour and a half long and I was getting eaten by bugs. In the end a few friends and I ended up just doing the walking path. I don’t love the zoo in the first place because I feel sad for the animals, this made me even more sad because it was dark and people take pictures with their bright flash. I would suggest that AIC supplies the students with tickets to go on their own time.
7. “Coaching” Session: Notice how I am ranking this behind the 4 hour play that I couldn’t understand. One of the part time AIC employees attempted to take us through the process of multiple personality tests that are supposed to reveal your strengths. I was always curious why companies pay large amount of money for trained facilitators to come in and carry out these tests (think Myers-Briggs), and I now know why. I know we are coming here to learn and become stronger students and employees, but this is an area that would be better left to carry out with the proper resources. These assessments can take week-long workshops to complete, so trying to squeeze multiple tests into a 2 hour event seems like recipe for disaster. Not to mention the facilitator was retired and out of touch with just about any aspect of the workplace and modern society you could think of, and I mean that in the nicest way possible. I’m sure a lot of effort was put into organizing this, so hopefully in years to come AIC can focus their efforts elsewhere.
AIC events that I was not able to attend but heard good things about from other students
Universal Studios
Silat Martial Arts
Overall, I am grateful for AIC and all the hard work they put in to make these experiences happen for students like me. There were a few happenings that really disappointed me with how they handled the situations. I think it is very important to create a safe environment for students to feel comfortable in, ESPECIALLY when it is 9,000+ miles and 12 timezones away from home. Ultimately I would tell them to be prepared to welcome constructive feedback when you ask for it, and I would love to see them (they are all females) morally and ethically stand up for the students.