Whether your dream is to visit world class ski resorts in Canada, see the Taj Mahal in India or backpack through the Machu Pichu, Peru’s lost city, there’s always a way to do it, and even get paid for doing it. Intercity Adventures is here to tell you how. It just requires a simple process which involves some pedestrian requirements you must meet. So many people want to travel abroad, but only very few can.

The lucky few are those who can afford to pay their way to various vacation spots of the world, or those who happen to work for organizations that are magnanimous enough to send them abroad for training or official duties. For the working class professional, things are even more difficult, due to grinding schedules and pressure at work. You can’t just seem to get off work early enough to even fill out a visa form, and no one seems to even want to nominate you for a course. You all know the politics that come with this.

No matter how tight things may seem to be, there are still numerous ways that you can travel abroad for work related reasons, to develop yourself career wise and even get reasonable allowances while doing this, if you are working that is. This is called the Exchange Program option, and the good news is, you don’t need to work for a blue chip organization or government to be a part of this. Several entrepreneurs who have their own small companies or organizations have benefited from this. The bottom line is- you just need to have something doing, career wise.

An international exchange program is a work or study related program where foreigners are invited into a specific country for short term visits to come and explore, the political, cultural and social aspects of the host country while engaging in the primary reason of visit. Such visits are typically two weeks, 3weeks or perhaps a month and some times as long as 3months with all expenses underwritten by the home government. You are given a visa to cover the duration of your stay, a two way economy ticket for your return, hotel accommodation and a modest allowance to cover the duration of your stay.

You hold business meetings or seminars or lecturers on designated days while on others you have an opportunity to experience the country and see what it has to offer. Once your program is over, you board the next available flight and return home, back to your desk. Several Nigerians who have schooled abroad have had opportunities to go on student exchange programs while quite a few Nigerians at home benefit from professional exchanges. The exchange offers broad based benefits and outcomes for those keen enough to embark on this international adventure.

Most of these are intertwined and come together to constitute the overarching exchange experience. Prospective employers in almost every field look favorably upon experience gained while living overseas and knowledge obtained of another language and culture, so these programs really put you in good stead. Successful completion of any such program also represents an excellent measure of personal flexibility, encompassing an ability to reach compromise, focus and succeed through challenging times. Several countries have bilateral and multilateral cooperation agreements with Nigeria, hence accept Nigerian nationals into various programs their countries are sponsoring. Some of these countries include the USA, UK, European Union, Sweden, Malaysia, China, Singapore, Canada, Japan, Australia, Korea just to mention but a few.

Intercity Adventures will share some of these programs here for you to have an idea what they entail and what you need to do as per application guidelines. You can research further to come up with other countries that appeal to you and the areas you are interested in for a professional exchange.

1. Malaysia Technical Cooperation Program (MTCP)

The Malaysian Technical Cooperation Program (MTCP) was first initiated at the First Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) for Asia Pacific Region in Sydney in February 1978. It was officially launched on 7 September 1980 at the Commonwealth Heads of State Meeting in New Delhi to signify Malaysia’s commitment to South-South Cooperation, in particular Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries (TCDC). In line with the spirit of South-South Cooperation, Malaysia through the MTCP shares its development experiences and expertise with other developing countries. The program forms part of the commitment of the Malaysian Government towards the promotion of technical cooperation among developing countries, strengthening of regional and sub-regional cooperation, as well as nurturing collective self-reliance among developing countries. See MTCP

2. Singapore Cooperation Program (SCP) The Singapore Cooperation Program (SCP) was established in 1992 to serve as the primary platform through which Singapore offers technical assistance to other countries. Given her limited resources, Singapore shares her experience and expertise – in particular, in human resource development and economic development – with other countries in lieu of providing direct financial assistance. To date, the SCP has trained over 80,000 government officials from 170 countries in the Asia Pacific, Africa, Middle East, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean.

Each year, SCP conducts some 300 courses and train close to 7,000 government officials. Although the SCP provides training to countries around the world, its primary focus is the ASEAN region. SCP offers training courses to ASEAN member states in a diverse range of subjects such as public governance and administration, trade and economic development, environment and urban planning, civil aviation, land transport, port management, education, healthcare, and information and communication technology (ICT). They are conducted both in-country and in Singapore.

SCP regularly review our courses to ensure that they remain relevant to the development needs of our friends.
See SCP


3. Indian Technical & Economic Cooperation (ITEC) The Indian Technical & Economic Cooperation (ITEC) program is a fully-funded program run by the Government of India with the goal of encouraging cooperation & partnership among developing countries, for mutual benefit.

Under ITEC & its corollary SCAAP (Special Commonwealth African Assistance Program), 161 countries in Asia, East Europe (including the former USSR), Central Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Pacific & Small Island countries are invited to share the Indian developmental experience in various fields.

As a result of different activities under this program, there is now a visible and growing awareness among other countries about the competence of India as a provider of technical know-how and expertise as well as training opportunities, consultancy services and feasibility studies.
See ITEC

4. Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) The KOICA Fellowship Program is one of KOICA’s main projects to support partner countries secure human resources for their development. The primary objective of the Fellowship Program is to share important technical skills and knowledge as well as to build capacities for sustainable socio-economic development.

As a first step to share the special experiences and knowledge of Korea, KOICA has been conducting grant aid and technical cooperation programs. Thus far, approximately 50,000 participants have participated in the Fellowship Program offered by KOICA. In 2014, KOICA plans to promote a various types of the Fellowship Program intended for about 4,600 participants.

Policymakers and the technical staff members of partner countries are invited to learn about the development experience of Korea and acquire new technical and managerial skills. Furthermore, the Fellowship Program is greatly involved in promoting a positive image of Korea.
See KOICA

5. Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) uses an array of development assistance schemes to meet diverse needs of developing countries around the world. As one of the schemes, technical cooperation contributes human resource development through utilizing Japan’s technology, skills and knowledge.

JICA’s Training and Dialogue Programs are a form of technical cooperation that JICA carries out in Japan. Much of the knowledge accumulated in Japanese society can be understood only by actually visiting Japan. An example of this is the unique way of forming social systems and organizational structures, the so-called “Japanese model.” If “seeing is believing,” then experiencing is understanding.

By actually visiting Japan, people from developing countries come to a setting surrounded by Japanese society and its organizations, where they can discuss the hardships in their home countries and develop an understanding of social conditions and values very different from their own. This experience imparts valuable knowledge that could be obtained in no other way.

JICA’s Training and Dialogue Programs are a form of technical cooperation that JICA carries out in Japan. Some of the knowledge that Japanese society has accumulated, including its background in areas such as organizational know-how and social systems, can only be understood through first-hand experience. The programs are an important means of technical cooperation which supports human resource development and resolving issues in developing countries...

Read more at: http://www.intercityadventures.com/how-to-travel-abroad-via-exchange-programs/