NYUAD students looked sharp on Tuesday, March 2 as they suited up to meet 20 UAE companies for the fourth university-wide Career Fair. This time around, the internship positions offered by employers were primarily summer opportunities for students interested in staying in Abu Dhabi for a local working experience.

Of the 20 companies, there were 11 new organizations from consulting, law and engineering firms as well as the AmCham and Operation Smile. Some of the newcomers were Christie’s Auction House, Clyde & Co. and D’appolonia. All gathered in the Downtown Campus Multi-Purpose Room as students meandered between booths to meet potential employers.

The Career Fair is aimed at bridging the divide between employers and students, facilitating conversation and interaction with the job market in the Emirates. Students exchanged CVs for business cards and walked out with many contacts and networking potential.

In contrast to past career fairs, several students noted many more opportunities.

“There were a lot of engineering companies who were willing to hire interns, unlike career fairs in the past,” sophomore Usama Afzal said.

In addition, two of the law firms, Clyde & Co. and Eversheds, are offering two-week trial and training periods to students, in order to garner where interns in the future could work in their firm.

Although the Career Fair is expanding, many students were still disappointed with the lack of variety.

Sophomore Oscar Lozano said he did not attend “because there weren’t any opportunities that had to do with art or psychology, only one that had to do with an auction house which is more business than art.”

Conflicting class schedules did not allow some students to attend. Many students expressed the need for a Career Fair over several days, not only a few hours.

Freshman Louis Plottel expressed an interest in seeing “a lot more NGOs, or companies that are doing more social responsibility work, or work that is a little bit more engaged in the community.”

Clare Matthews, the Career Development Center Coordinator, explained that making and maintaining these connections can be hard and tiring but rewarding work.

“The plan is to grow and to bring more prestigious employers,” Matthews said. “[We] definitely want bigger and better with everything we do so we are very interested in student feedback. If there is something that is missing, we want to know.”