The Harvard College in Asia Program (HCAP) has continued its tradition of connecting global student leaders and promoting academic discourse through its 2024 conferences. The 2024 Boston Conference took place from Jan. 14 to 20 at Harvard University’s campus, gathering delegations from all of Asia for a week filled with academic, cultural, and social exchange.
With this year's theme of “Embracing the Unknown: The Path Less Traveled,” the Boston conference delved into the importance of reframing challenges as opportunities. The various lectures by distinguished speakers emphasized how taking unconventional paths can lead to successful endeavors, while the conference also fostered connections between each participating delegate through entertaining activities.
Ewha selects 10 students as delegates each year for HCAP. The Ewha delegates consist of a president and a vice president, as well as academic program management, cultural program management, public relations (PR), accounting, and student support teams.
Yunhee Han, a rising senior majoring in business administration, shared her experience of attending the Boston conference as the vice president of the Ewha delegates.
“The most integral part of HCAP is that it provides a platform that unites participants,” Han said. “All delegates focused on socializing throughout the conference, especially regarding various global issues with delegates from other universities. As we all had earned the opportunity to participate in HCAP through a cutthroat selection process, we were all eager to converse with and share ideas with as many great minds as possible.”
This year’s Boston conference comprised numerous lectures on topics such as entrepreneurship, startups, and the artificial intelligence industry since the theme for this year focused on entering uncharted academic and career-related fields.
Professor David Atherton of Harvard University kick-started the series of lectures planned for the Boston conference with his insight on “How to Get Lost.” He explained the notions of finite and infinite games, with the former referring to situations that require one to intricately strategize and aim to win while the latter refers to those that require focusing more on how to bring out the best within the situation itself.
“Professor Atherton’s lecture certainly provided me with food for thought,” Han revealed. “His teachings on how to cope with the uncertainty our future holds and how one can give their best in situations by navigating between finite and infinite games inspired me a lot.”
Through a partnership with Ringle, an online English tutoring service, the Ewha delegates were also able to gain insight into starting a business, working overseas as a Korean, and the core values required for a startup firm. The delegations also visited TAZA Chocolate, a famous organic chocolate factory located in Boston. As they toured the factory, delegates listened to speeches on TAZA’s core values, which reinforced the importance of environmental social governance and prioritizing fair practices in business ventures.
The Ewha delegates also prepared a speech for HCAPx, a 15-minute speech-sharing program amongst all delegations. The Ewha delegates delivered their speech on “Future Directions for Korean Universities: A Vision for Adaptation,” sharing their thoughts on what intellectuals in South Korea should aim for during their time in university, taking into consideration the constant change regarding the perception of higher education and academic learning.
Nakyung Kang, a rising senior majoring in Architectural and Urban Systems Engineering, also expounded on her experience at the Boston conference as the PR team leader of the Ewha delegates.
“I applied for HCAP with the expectation of an opportunity for international exchange and extreme self-growth that may be hard to come by during my years in college,” Kang stated. “Especially since this year’s theme focused on taking unconventional paths, I could easily connect it to my current situation as a student who has graduated from a humanities and liberal arts-based secondary education program but is pursuing engineering in higher education.”
Kang mentioned the talent show that delegations from all participating countries prepared for as one of the most memorable events during the Boston conference.
“Through HCAP, we had the opportunity to present a dance medley stage of NewJeans and BLACKPINK’s songs for the talent show segment of the Boston conference,” Kang reminisced. “It was an unforgettable experience introducing Korean culture to other delegations while also watching performances from other cultures. Especially for me, having been unable to fulfill my passion for dancing on stage throughout my college years due to COVID-19, it was unbelievable that my longawaited first dance performance took place on the Harvard campus.”
The Boston conference was also a memorable and valuable experience for the students of Harvard’s Boston delegation, who had been in charge of hosting over 70 foreign delegates.
Sammi Zhu, a student majoring in computer science at Harvard University, commented on her experience preparing for and participating in the Boston conference as the alumni chair and Seoul’s coforeign liaison.
“Though HCAP provides a lot of events, ranging from talent shows and potlucks to traveling, I do not believe that it is the events themselves that are valuable, but rather the people at the events,” Zhu stated.
Zhu mentioned that a lot of Harvard delegates were impressed at the range of talents displayed by the foreign delegates as they watched the talent show. The potluck also allowed delegates to share their culture through diverse dishes.
Though the Boston conference came to an end after an eventful seven days, the Seoul conference is quickly approaching. Scheduled from March 9 to 16, it will continue to explore this year’s theme of “Embracing the Unknown: The Path Less Traveled,” from a Korean perspective.
As hosts of the Seoul conference, Kang explained the simultaneously growing pressure and excitement.
“As many do, I have also experienced the frustration of wanting to execute things perfectly but facing difficulties under such pressure,” Kang admitted. “However, while focusing on planning the conference and providing the best experiences, all 10 Ewha delegates respected one another’s opinions and worked together towards the common goal. Thanks to this, we were able to come up with better solutions and ideas to perfect the Seoul conference preparations.”
Zhu also expressed her anticipation about the upcoming Seoul conference as a visitor.
“I am looking forward to being reunited with the amazing Seoul delegates that I met during the winter conference we held at Harvard,” Zhu expressed. “I am also excited for the wonderful food, as well as having the opportunity to explore Korean culture and traditions in person.”