Local university students who wish to get a taste of working in other parts of South-east Asia or India can now look to two new initiatives from trade agency International Enterprise (IE) Singapore.

The schemes aim to nurture a pool of Singaporeans familiar with the business practices and operating conditions of key markets in the region, said IE Singapore yesterday.

The IE Singapore Go SEA Award will use a recruitment platform to help to place undergraduates in their final year with internships spanning at least 12 weeks in the South-east Asian offices of local companies.

IE Singapore expects 30 awards, which are valued at $12,000 each and will cover a student's living and travel expenses, as well as a company stipend, to be given out in the first year.

OCBC, Pico Art International and Stamford Tyres Corporation are some of the firms that will take part in the scheme, which was officially announced yesterday at the Asean- India Business Forum.

The initiative will be launched in the universities in the third quarter this year.

The second initiative involves bringing new partners on board IE Singapore's existing Young Talent Programme, which supports local students on overseas programmes with a weekly and travel allowance, to grow the trade agency's network in India.

The trade agency signed three Memoranda of Understanding yesterday with the Confederation of Indian Industry, a large Indian business association, Nanyang Technological University, National University of Singapore and Singapore Management University.

They will collaborate in creating a network of talent focused on India's needs.

The partnerships will allow the universities and IE Singapore to tap on the Confederation of Indian Industry's network of over 8,000 members, spanning small and medium enterprises to multi-nationals across the public and private sectors, to create overseas attachment and internship opportunities for selected students.

About 30 students are expected to take on attachments in India in the first year.

IE Singapore chief executive Lee Ark Boon said yesterday: "To grow their footprint abroad, companies need to acquire suitable talents able to thrive in foreign environments.

"These new talent initiatives, focused on the key growth regions of Southeast Asia and India, will drive the growth of domestic firms and create quality jobs for a new global breed of Singaporeans."