Welcome to the Movement

Welcome, and thank you for your interest in the Operation Smile UAE Student Program! We are part of a global movement dedicated to creating a world where every child has access to the safe surgical care they deserve. Our student volunteers are the heart of this mission, driving real change through our core pillars of Education, Advocacy, and Action.

This page will guide you through our unique volunteering philosophy, the application process, and what it truly means to be a student volunteer with us. Please read it carefully to decide if this journey is the right fit for you.

Before You Apply: Our Core Principles

We receive a high volume of applications, and our program is intentionally designed for depth over breadth. To ensure we find students who are a perfect match for our mission, we operate on the following core principles.

1. Our “Cause, Not Credit” Philosophy
This is the most important aspect of our program. We screen for truly dedicated students who are passionate about our cause, not just fulfilling a requirement. Therefore:

• Operation Smile UAE has a strict “no certificates” policy. We do not provide certificates of participation, letters of appreciation, or formal validation for service hours.
• The reward for your time and commitment is the tangible impact we create together—the knowledge that you have helped give a child a new smile and a new future.

2. Our Volunteering Schedule
Our volunteer opportunities are not on a fixed, weekly schedule. We send out invitations to our pool of qualified student volunteers as and when awareness events, fundraising campaigns, and other activities become available.

• This ad-hoc schedule may not be suitable for programs requiring a consistent, weekly time commitment (such as the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award or other specific service-learning requirements).

Your First Commitment: The Onboarding Process

To ensure every volunteer is a confident and effective ambassador for our cause, all selected applicants must complete a multi-step onboarding process before they can sign up for any activity. This requires a significant upfront time commitment.

The mandatory steps are:

1. Create Your Profile: If your application has been approved, you will be invited to set up a detailed profile on our official volunteer management platform, VolunteerMatters.
2. Attend Induction: You must attend a mandatory Volunteer Induction meeting, which is held live via Zoom.
3. Complete Your Training: You must complete several self-paced online learning modules to build a strong foundation of knowledge about our work.

Only after all three steps are complete will you be considered a qualified volunteer eligible to receive invitations for events.

What to Expect: Your Role as a Student Volunteer

As a new student volunteer, your primary and most vital role is to support our public-facing awareness and fundraising events. You will be the face and voice of Operation Smile in the community, educating the public, inspiring action, and helping to raise the funds that make our medical missions possible.

Please note:

• Direct interaction with patients or volunteering in a clinical setting is not part of this initial role.
• Opportunities to attend a medical program are extremely rare and are reserved only for our most dedicated, long-term student leaders after years of extensive service and specialized leadership training.

Crafting a Strong Application: What We Look For

Your application is our first chance to get to know you. We are not looking for perfect answers; we are looking for passion, curiosity, and potential. We review every application to understand:

• Your Comprehension of Our Mission: Do you understand what we do and why it’s needed?
• Your Deeper Understanding: Do you see the bigger picture of our holistic and sustainable model regarding health education, advocating for policy changes, and conducting research?
• Your Character and Motivation: What drives you? Why this cause?

If you are not yet able to answer these questions, we recommend that you spend some more time researching the organization and cause before applying.

Ready for the Challenge?

If you have read the above and feel a strong connection to our mission and our high-commitment approach, we would be thrilled to receive your application.