The HSG Alumni Club in Brazil is an active network of former HSG students who have chosen the region to become self-starter entrepreneurs or to locally represent some of the most established business from Europe. Jointly with GIMLA, the Club regularly organizes networking events with other renowned international business schools. Many of the social events organized by the Club are open to the HSG Latam Term exchange students. In addition, the Club serves as an excellent contact and entry point to understanding the job market in Latin America; Club members actively serve as part of the Latam Term Buddy System, the Capstone Projects, and eventually offer internship opportunities to HSG students.

In the Buddy System, a small group of students is assigned to one HSG Alumni club member who becomes sort of a local career mentor and life coach advisor concerning studies, work, and life in the region. “Buddies” are introduced during the Latam Term welcome dinner and are free to organize follow up reunions as they see fit. Through this system, students get not only one-to-one insights into the entrepreneurial scene but may also gain a friend and a mentor for life.

Students who come to Brazil for the Latam Term may take this opportunity to seek a first international work experience through internships. According to the local VISA regulations, foreign students may work as part-time interns for the duration of their studies in the country and up to 120 days afterward, if they remain enrolled as students at the HSG. GIMLA organizes an orientation session for those interested in working in Brazil and grants assistance to those who search for opportunities in other Latin American countries. GIMLA actively seeks institutional partners, ranging from the HSG Alumni club, the Swiss Business Hub, Swisscam, swissnex Brazil, the city hall of São Paulo and the local start-up scene in order to develop and expand the internship offer. Read what a Swiss business founder has to say.

Latam Term students are encouraged to contribute to the local communities through volunteering activities organized in cooperation with local NGOs and international organizations. Activities might range from spending a weekend with Teto and Habitat for Humanity building houses for low-income families, assisting with the logistics of donations and intercultural communication for refugees at the São Paulo Chapter of the Red Cross, producing desktop research for the town hall to advance SDG integration into planning frameworks. More volunteering opportunities are communicated to the students on a rolling basis. A former exchange student shares her volunteering experience at Teto.