History
The idea behind AIESEC started in 1938, when representatives from schools across Europe exchanged information about various programs and schools that specialized in business and economics. Students were carrying out internships in other countries. Mostly on their own initiative but it came to a standstill with the onslaught of World War II. In 1944, the neutral Scandinavian countries were still exchanging students. In Stockholm, Bertil Hedberg, an official at the Stockholm School of Economics, and students Jaroslav Zich (of Czechoslovakia), Jean Choplin (of France) and Stanislas Callens (of Belgium) founded AIESEC. This was the predecessor of AIESEC,[7] which was officially founded in 1948. At the time, the organization's stated mission was