The basics to understanding AIESEC as an organisation from a University of Cape Town member perspective.

1. The basics to understanding the organization from an AIESEC UCT member perspective.
AIESEC is an international organization with multiple branches and levels of hierarchy. It
is mainly run by tertiary level students and graduates with some help from external
bodies.
AIESEC at the University of Cape Town is registered as a society due to the many
benefits and advantages which can be gained from the UCT society system. This means
that the organization operates in both the capacity of a local committee and society
simultaneously.
AIESEC operates 365 days a year, 24/7
The word ‘AIESEC’ is always spelt in full capitals.

2. The Structure of the System
The number of local
committees is South
Africa changes
frequently. They are all
usually based on a
university campus.
The AIESEC South Africa
national office/MC
represents all AIESECers in
South Africa. It is currently
based in Midrand in
Gauteng.
AI is the headquarters
for all AIESEC
operations. The office is
currently based in the
Netherlands.
@International/AI
The National Office/MC
(Member Committee)
University Society/LC (Local
Committee)
Team Leaders
Team
Members
AIESEC UCT
is an LC
Organization Hierarchy
President
VP
Team
Leader
Team
Member
VP VP
The Standard Committee Structure
On every level of the AIESEC system,
There is typically a president who is
elected. They then choose a number of
Vice-Presidents to fill particular roles. They
are collectively know as an EB (Executive
Board)
All positions in AIESEC last for 1 year
– The next page goes into more detail
about the roles of each member of the EB.AI, The MCs and regional groups of LCs run
conferences annually to connect members and
discuss strategy moving forward.

3. The Executive Board Explained
President
The main leader, trainer, strategist, and representative of the committee.
VP – ICX
-Runs the ICX
Team.
Responsible for
training team
members,
ensuring effective
strategies are
implemented and
that quality is
maintained.
VP – OGX
-Runs the OGX
Team.
Responsible for
training team
members, ensuring
effective strategies
are implemented
and that quality is
maintained.
VP – TM (Talent
Management)
-Basically Human
Resources.
TM makes sure
that all members
are having a
quality experience
and making the
most of their time
in AIESEC
VP – BD (Business
Development)
-a.k.a. External
Relations
Builds up
connections with
businesses and
tertiary institutions to
form partnerships to
produce more
income for the
committee
VP – Finance
-Keeps records of
the financial
transactions and
provides
assistance with
managing the
financial
regulations around
the committee
VP – Marketing
-Provides a
platform for the
committee to
gain brand
recognition and
increases
awareness of
the programs
being run
Exchange Functions Support Functions
Exchange is explained in
further detail on the next
page.
Each of these support functions contribute towards
ensuring that the committee is financially sustainable,
motivated, and well known
There are many bodies in AIESEC apart from the standard committees. Some are
independent. We won’t go into detail about them since this is about the basics but they
include:
The Internal Control Board, Boards of Advisors, Boards of Trustees, The expansions
committee, Conference committees, focus commissions, etc.

4. Exchange Explained
Exchange is the core product of AIESEC. All operations in and around the organization are based on making exchange bigger and better.
-It is built up around the idea of ‘peace and the fulfillment of humankind’s potential’. The idea is that by providing exchange, AIESEC enables
people to break cultural barriers and form international connections. At the same time this helps strengthen economies as people with
particular skills who need work experience can apply themselves in a country where their type of skills are needed.
The exchange process explained for both ICX (receiving interns) and OGX (sending interns)
A young person (Exchange
Participant [EP]) visits
internships.aiesec.org and
sets up a profile. They
browse available
internships.
The EP Goes through a
review board/interview
with the OGX team. - If
they pass it they proceed.
The EP pays the committee
to be able to apply for
internships on
internships.aiesec.org
EP applies to internships.
Once they are accepted,
they need to pay the
committee an admin fee
towards the upkeep of the
system
The OGX team and EP go
through preparation to
ensure the EP has
everything that they need.
The EP goes on the
internship. The OGX team
stays in touch to ensure the
quality is good.
The EP returns from their
exchange . The OGX team
follows up on their
experience
The ICX Team sets up
a partnerships with
companies/NGOs to
receive interns
The ICX team plans
details like
accommodation and
transport from the
airport
An account manager
from the ICX team
goes through
applications fro the
internships
ICX Team assigns a
buddy to help the EP
with preparation
ICX Team picks up the
EP from the airport.
Shows them how to
get around etc.
The EP returns from
their exchange . The
ICX team evaluates
the experience
‘RAISING’
a TN taker
Application
Processing Reception
‘RAISE FEE’
And raising
‘MATCH FEE’
And matching
Realization Reintegration
Important things to know about exchange:
The are two types of exchange
Volunteering
a.k.a. GCDP.
The Raise fee is
R1000. The Match
fee is R1000
Paid Internships
a.k.a. GIP.
The Raise fee is
R1750. The Match
fee is R1750
As mentioned before,
AIESEC operates 365
24/7 so there are
always internships
running
Anyone who is under 30
and in a tertiary
institution or recently
graduated can go on
exchange
The minimum
duration for an
internship is 6 weeks

5. The AIESEC Acronyms.
There are many acronyms used in AIESEC. The table below explains what some of them
mean. It usually takes a while to learn all of them.
AIESEC – Association Internationale des Etudiants en Sciences Economiques et Commerciales. From
French International Association of Students in Economics and Management. Nowadays, the French acronym
AIESEC is no longer used by the organization, since in the history AIESEC expanded to other backgrounds
different to Economic and Commercial Sciences. AIESEC is the current legally accepted name for the
organization.
Structure
AI – AIESEC International – The AIESEC at international level with a mandate of one year AI coordinates all
the national committees. AI includes members from different MCs around the world. PAI – President of AIESEC
International
MC – Member Committee The AIESEC on national level with a mandate of one year MC coordinates all the
local committees. MC includes members from different LCs form the country or abroad. The Bulgarian MC is in
Sofia.
MCP – Member Committee President
MCVP – Member Committee Vice President
GST - Global Support Team
NST - National Support Team - team supporting an MCVP
LC – Local Committee – local section. The current number of LCs in South Africa is 7 – in UJ, UP, UCT, Wits,
NMMU, Monash, Stellenbosch
EB – Executive board includes the LCP + LCVPs
LCP – President of the Local Committee
LCVP – Vice-President of the Local Committee
Functional Teams
Comm – Communications Department - the team responsible for inner and outer communications, online
promoting and online support.
ER – External relations department. It includes a team responsible for finding sponsors and/or raising
companies and sales.
F/ FA – Finance – financial department responsible for all the finance that cycle through LC or MC.
ICX – Incoming Exchange – the team responsible for the incoming exchange participants, and signing the
contracts with Local Companies.
LTT – Local Training Team – the team responsible for training the members, works in common with the
LCVPs.
MaC – Marketing and Communications - Communications and ER combined.
OGX – Outgoing Exchange – the team responsible for sending local students abroad as Exchanged students.
TM – Talent Management – talent development team responsible for the trainings, motivation, development and
recruitment of the members.
AIESEC Geography
GN – Growth Network (area of AIESEC expansion):
CEE – Central and Eastern Europe
WENA – Western Europe and North America
MENA – Middle East and North Africa
IA - Iberoamerica
AP - Asia Pacific
Africa
General
Alumni – A former member, who has been active in AIESEC, had a leadership position or went on exchange.
He/she is still actively supporting AIESEC work (e.g. give trainings, advices…)
XP – Experience - in AIESEC- XP is every position that a member takes
TN - Trainee Nominee – mostly are the companies, organizations or projects that give opportunity for students
to gain experience in the area of working.
EXPA – experience.aiesec.org , the main admin website currently used in AIESEC
EP – Exchange participant – the students that are here coming from abroad.They are part of project or interns.
GCDP - Global Community Development Programme - social experience abroad, 1 of the 4 programs of
AIESEC GIP - Global Internship Programme - professional experience abroad, 1 of the 4 programs of AIESEC
CEED - Cultural Envoy for Exchange Development – opportunity for old and new members to work in an
another LC/MC for a short period of time for reasons of personal or LC/MC development
PBoX – Project Based on Exchange – every AIESEC project that include Interns.
OC – Organizing Committee – Organizing Committee. A group of people who is arranging a P-BoX, seminar or
conference. They make sure a project is done properly. Some of the OC positions may include sales, finance,
reception, logistics, communication.
OCP = PM – Organizing Committee President = Project Manager – Organizing Committee President – the
coordinator of an AIESEC project or conference.
FACI – facilitator – people that help or give sessions during the main event. CHAIR – The main presenter, it is
a must have on every conference.
GM – General Meeting - meeting of all the LC members.
GA – General Assembly - Episodic meeting of all the full-right members of the LC which is
arranged when important decisions should be made.
MD – Meeting Diversity – an important PBoX in the field of education.
WP – World Playground – an important PBoX in the field of education. CW – Colourful Way – an important
PBoX in the field of cultural exchange.
BiP - Business in Practice – an important ER project.
RnR - Reward and Recognition
EwA - Engaging with AIESEC
LEC - Local Educational Time
KM - Knowledge Management
GEP - Global Exchange Partners; Global Entrepreneurship Program
That’s it for the basics. A lot of information has been left out though. It is always
highly encouraged that members Google things relating to AIESEC. There are lots
of resources on the internet. There are also many YouTube videos about AIESEC.
The most useful source of information is the EB and the MC though.