Three separate locations across the world led to three completely different experiences for students who took part in this year's Bermuda Foundation for Insurance Studies (BFIS) Summer Intern Programmes.

Damir Armstrong, Patrick Doyle, Andrew Osborne and ShannonThompson all undertook a three-week programme inBermuda between the end of May and mid-June, partnering with two students from Illinois State University's the Katie School of Insurance and Financial Studies.

Stephen Bath, Melissa Holland, Gregory Martin and Christina Ratteray participated in a two-week programme at the start of July hosted by industry partners and Katie School alumni inChicago to learn all about the insurance market there and gain valuable overseas experience.

Tiffany Austin, Jonathan McBeath, Stacy Oughton and Travis Stevens headed to London for two weeks between the end of May and early June courtesy of partners in the Lloyd's market.

They were all on hand at XL House on Friday to give presentations on their experiences in the insurance field over the summer.

Mr. Thompson, who graduated from Oakwood University this year with a double major in Maths and Finance, was recommended the BFIS programme by his sister, who was a former scholar and is currently an underwriter at Allied World Assurance Company, so he applied online and sent of an application letter and was later accepted

"You learn more in this three-week structure than in a semester," he said.

"You also get a working knowledge of the insurance industry from an outside perspective and learn how everyone works together to achieve a common goal.

"Meanwhile it solidifies your view of the path you want to take and helps you single out a specific goal that you want to achieve."

His work involved working on an underwriting submission, from reading through it to looking at the company's reputation in the market, and even deciding whether it is stable enough to underwrite and whether to take on the business, spending time at both Allied World and Ace.

Mr. Martin, who expects to graduate next year from Wilfred Laurier University with a major in communication studies and business administration, read about the internship in the newspaper and went ahead and applied.

"The best part of the programme was the exposure to the industry professionals," he said.

"You may study all the books, but to have the opportunity to meet with the professionals who do insurance on a daily basis is probably the best way to learn."

)During his time in Chicago, he focused on what each company did in terms of their operations, specific product lines and their niche in the insurance market there.

After completing his studies, Mr. Martin wants to become a broker, starting his career aboard to increase his knowledge and experience, as well developing himself both personally and professionally, before returning to work inBermuda.

Mr. Stevens, who was previously a BFIS scholarship recipient, was convinced to choose London as a destination by his room-mate at St. John's University (who had been there last year), from where he expects to graduate in 2010 with a major in risk management and insurance and computer information systems.

"The main reason I applied for the programme was to put a professional working perspective on what you hear in school and in career fairs, because you hear what these guys do, but you never really get to know what they do on a day-to-day basis," he said.

Based at Lloyd's of London, Mr. Stevens covered everything from underwriting and broking to the banking side of the business, and reckons the best facet of the market was the fact that everyone working in the industry is within the same building, in addition to the traditional, decades-old paper method of writing insurance.

He plans to get into enterprise risk management in order to combine his interest in IT and insurance on completion of his studies next year.