I’m going to speak about forging a path into VC as a student outside of the US since there are far more opportunities and programmes available to help you do so if you are based in the US.

I’m going to begin by speaking about what makes a good VC. There’s a reason why most people end up in VC by accident rather than deliberately doing the ‘right’ things during school and university to get there. There’s also a reason why most VCs don’t hire straight out of undergrad; instead they require at least a few years beyond your time in education.

Debatably, the best VCs are ex-founders. I think that this makes sense because how can you find, and coach the next AirBnB if you've never yourself experienced the difficult process of taking a startup from ideation to exit? VCs are entrepreneurial; they take calculated risks and bet on the unexpected.

The second best thing you can do is get some operational experience. This involves working at an early-stage startup and seeing it grow and scale. Your position is not as instrumental as what you are able to see and learn at the startup. Choose a start-up with a great founding team and a strong vision. Again, from this, you will pick up ideas and best practices that will help you to be able to source and coach great start-ups later on.

Another way to get into VC, which is sometimes the expected route at least in the UK, is to spend some time in investment banking (on the M&A side) or strategy consulting. Both will give you experience understanding how businesses work fundamentally and how they make money. They will also give you some of the technical skills required for valuing startups, which could be helpful if you're a later stage investor. Some VCs prefer to hire ex-bankers and some ex-consultants; it's really about finding one that fits you.

Opportunities to get into VC as a student:

1. Source deal flow for a student fund. While there aren't a huge number of funds that allow you to do this outside of the US, the need for student pipelines into top institutions is expanding. Creator Fund is the most established and reputable example of this, taking on a scout from campuses across the UK that will introduce the most promising startups to the fund for investment. There are a few other organisations enabling you to do the same such as Campus Capital and Open Water Accelerator. Also, check out if any US-based organisations allow non-US students to apply as a scout. Note that most scouting programmes are extremely competitive, and it's important to be heavily involved with the entrepreneurship scene on campus to be considered.
2. Informally source deal flow. You don't have to be formally representing a fund to learn due diligence and consider your investment thesis. Start a Medium blog and write up investment memos on startups in your country that you find interesting. If you want to cold-apply to VC summer internships as an undergraduate, a link to your blog is an excellent way to show your interest and credibility. This is exactly the kind of work you'd be doing on a VC internship, and so showcase your competence.
3. Join an on-campus fund. Some universities have their own student-run fund on campus which invests in student start-ups. Join one if you can, but if there isn't one, then consider starting your own. It would be a great investment of your time since you'd learn a huge amount, and a lot of students are working on this at the moment so you could reach out to them for help. Raising a fund is a significant commitment though so be aware.
4. Join the team at a student-run incubator/ accelerator programme - another great way to get super involved in the startup ecosystem and watch a cohort of companies grow and scale. As a team member you can probably go along to all of the talks, and access any of the mentors available to startups. The accelerator will also most likely have talks on pitching, pitch decks, and fundraising, and a final demo day. If you get involved in the investor relations side you can network with VCs so that your foot is in the door for any opportunities.
5. Join the entrepreneurship society on campus. Better yet, get a leadership position in the entrepreneurship society. Go to the events, network with entrepreneurs on campus, and entrepreneurial alumni from your university. The more you can learn about startups, the more equipped you'll be for VC.
6. Build your network. Join Meagan Loyst's (Investor at Lerer Hippeau) slack group Gen Z VC, which has over 6,000 young people that are either interested in, or heavily involved in the VC space. Sign up for Ladder, which has a dedicated community space for students interest in VC. Get following and retweeting VC's on Twitter, and listen in to talks on Clubhouse.

Use all of these opportunities to equip you with the technical VC skillset, help you build a network, and figure out what vertical you're most interested in and start reading and focusing on that (e.g. fintech, future of work etc). Outside of these formal opportunities, the best thing you can do at university is start your own start-up. Utilise student VC resources yourself - on campus you have free access to talent, accelerators, scouts and resources that you will never have again. As you get older, you'll have more and more other responsibilities and so it's really not a bad time to start your own business. However, I would recommend reading this essay by the iconic Paul Graham (YC founder) first, where he explains why students shouldn't start a company during university. I suppose you'll always find advice on both sides of the table.

I'm going to end with a controversial idea: if you are looking into what you should be doing during your undergrad to break into VC, don't. Do something else first, and focus wholeheartedly on that. You'll end up in VC when the time is right if it suits your journey.