Association AIDA
AIDA - International Affairs Dauphine Association
AIDA is the association of students on the track, it includes all students from the current cohort.
Its goal is to:
- Develop a cohort spirit of solidarity and support among its students;
- Spread the word about the program among academics, companies and students;
- Forge connections between the various cohorts through the maintenance of an alumni network;
- Organize all events that characterize life in the Master’s program.
All students take part in the many activities through divisions formed for a specific assignment (travel, sponsors, conferences, communication, events, alumni). The AIDA association is coordinated by a board whose members are elected by current students. The board is charged with leading and coordinating the work groups. It comprises a chair, a vice-chair, a treasurer and a general secretary.
Who are we?
The cohort
The great strength of the International Affairs track is its multicultural student body. The cohort includes an array of nationalities, including French, Algerian, Chinese, Indonesian, Senegalese, Mexican, Israeli, Moroccan, Polish and Danish. The students' backgrounds are very varied with students from the 1st year of a Master's degree (from Dauphine or from outside) in international economics and development, management, law but also from IEP or engineering schools.
The career goals of each of them also add to the diversity of this program. All of them with an international focus, the internships, VIE/VIA or jobs obtained by successive cohorts cover a variety of fields: international business development, international commerce and trade, international purchasing, finance, import/export, financing of international projects and consulting and audit. The destinations for internships or jobs for students on the International Affairs track illustrate the international dimension of these projects: Algeria, China, Ivory Coast, Eritrea, Iran, Lebanon, Niger, Senegal, to name but some.
Significant events
AIDA (International Affairs Dauphine Association) is the association for the International Affairs track. Since 1976 it has included all students from the current cohort. Its aim is to spread the word about the Master’s and the program among academics, companies and students at information fairs, as well as to develop a cohort spirit of solidarity between its students. The Master's degree features student clubs based on several projects.
Managing the Alumni network
The International Affairs track is proud to be supported by its dynamic and reliable network of 1,600 alumni; the directory is updated yearly by students from the current cohort. There are several events that help forge connections between the various cohorts.
Get-togethers are held throughout the year, so that members can meet in a relaxed setting.
The Conference (mars)
Each year the International Affairs track organizes a conference on a current topic of interest in economics, with guests from the academic and political worlds, as well as company executives.
Subjects from previous years include:
- 2023 : Critical metals, rare earths: vitamins or toxin of the modern era
- 2022: Under-sea cables: vectors of conflict or factors of cooperation in the 21st century
- 2021: Straits: catalysts for the challenges of a globalized world (held virtually due to Covid)
- 2020: The Arctic, the rush to the North? (Cancelled due to Covid)
- 2019: The era of a closed world?
- 2018: Water: the stakes of the blue treasure
- 2017: Should we bet on Iran?
- 2016: China; a giant in a turbulent region
- 2015: Threats on all fronts, from maritime piracy to cyber-crime
- 2014: Has Africa gained enough momentum?
- 2013: 2020 - The utopia of a new golden age?
- 2012: What’s the future for Europe? Challenges of the Euro and the return of made in Europe
- 2011: G20: Stability at what cost? The currency war and farming challenges
- 2010: The energy cocktail of the future
- 2009: 2009, emerging countries in turmoil
Several hundred students and professionals attend. At previous editions the International Affairs track was honored to receive Jean-Pierre Jouyet, Director of the AMF (financial markets authority, Pascal Lamy, Director General of the WTO, Jacques Attali, Christophe de Margerie, former CEO of Total, Philippe Louis-Dreyfus, CEO of Louis-Dreyfus Armateur, Christian Blanckaert, CEO of Hermès International.
The Study trip (April/May)
The aim of the study trip is to focus on the economic and geopolitical outlooks of a country by meeting French or local companies present overseas. It is also an opportunity to foster ties between students from the cohort.
The trip is managed by the students. At the start of the year the cohort chooses a destination, then searches for the funding needed for all students to be able to take part. The students are also responsible for organizing the trip and making contact with the companies locally. At the end of the study trip participants produce a travel log that is sent to the entire alumni network as well as to partner companies of the International Affairs track.
AIDA is financed entirely through membership fees and through partnerships with companies in the form of sponsorships or commissioned studies.
Destinations in recent years include:
- 2023 : Brazil
- 2022: Colombia
- 2021: Bulgaria and Romania (Cancelled due to Covid)
- 2020: China, then Brazil (Cancelled due to Covid)
- 2019: Vietnam
- 2018: Japan
- 2017: South Korea
- 2016: South Africa and Mozambique
- 2015: Colombia
- 2014: Mexico
- 2013: Brazil
- 2012: Vietnam - Thailand
- 2011: Malaysia - Singapore
- 2010: China - Beijing, Shanghai & Hong Kong
- 2009: Malaysia - Singapore
- 2008: Brazil - São-Paulo, Curitiba & Rio de Janeiro
- 2007: China
- 2006: India - Mumbai & New Delhi
- 2005: Russia - Moscow
Welcome weekend for the new cohort (October)
Each year in October, AIDA organizes a mandatory welcome weekend for all students in the new cohort and most of the students in the graduating cohort are also happy to take part. The aim of this weekend is to create a true cohort spirit between new students from very varied backgrounds. Crossing the bay of Mont Saint Michel, a number of sporting activities and a welcome evening all help students to get to know one another.
The various divisions of the association
To complete all these projects, AIDA’s structure includes 6 divisions: Sponsors, Travel, Conference, Events, Communications and Alumni. Each division is supervised by a manager elected by the members of the division. The AIDA association is led by a governing board whose members (a chair, a vice-chair, a general secretary and a treasurer) are elected by current students.
Elected by the cohort at the start of the year, the Board coordinates the various divisions, manages relations with professors and manages legal and financial issues.
The Partnerships Center is responsible for maintaining the partnerships that the association has with many large companies, and for negotiating new partnership agreements with new companies in order to participate in the financing of the study trip.
The Alumni division coordinates the alumni network for the International Affairs track. It updates the alumni directory, organizes the awards ceremony for the graduating class and the alumni social events.
The Travel division has the major responsibility for organizing the study trip, the destination for which is chosen by the cohort. It organizes the itinerary, company visits and logistics. After the trip it is responsible for publishing the travel log.
The Conference division is devoted exclusively to organizing this major event of the year for the International Affairs track. It chooses the topic and the speakers, and takes care of logistics and promotion.
The Communication division has a cross-functional role in the International Affairs track, since it fosters connections between the other divisions. It takes care of communicating on the various events organized for the website and social media. It is responsible for producing the video broadcast during the diploma award ceremony and the promotional materials for the various other divisions (such as conference).
The Events division organizes the various dinners and parties for the cohort. It organizes the Nuit des Masters, the inter-Masters get-togethers and the WEI for the next cohort.
Alumni
The International Affairs track is supported by a very active alumni network of over 1,400 professionals working in a number of sectors both in France and abroad. The AIDA association aims to forge solid ties between successive cohorts to facilitate opportunities for discussion and contact between students and alumni, while showcasing the alumni’s professional profiles.
Alumni Directory
Each year, the AIDA Alumni division updates the Alumni Directory, a true mine of information allowing members of the International Affairs track community to have an overview of the professional trajectories of each individual and to find contact information.