Photo by Kim Kyung-min.
“The objective of Get It Global 2015 was to motivate students to study abroad and strengthen our potential as a global university,” said Choi Hera, the Outbound Program Coordinator of the Office of International Affairs (OIA).
As an event organized by the OIA, Get It Global 2015 started with a briefing session where the OIA explained their numerous programs; including the Student Exchange Program, Short-Term Study Abroad & Language Programs, Ewha International Co-ed Summer College and Harvard College in Asia Program.
The event also invited professor Marc Neufeld from the Department of International Office Administration to lecture the basics of writing e-mails in English. Afterwards, Daniel Lindemann, known for the talk show Non-Summit, shared his opinions and advice for students planning to study abroad through his lecture “TAKE from Real Stories on Traveling, Planning a Future.”
However, the highlight of the event was the TALK Session, where foreign exchange students and undergraduate students of Ewha mingled together and shared valuable lessons they had learned through personal experiences abroad. The TALK Session was special in that the OIA promoted networking and mentor-mentee bond between the students for the first time.
During the TALK Session, undergraduates were paired with exchange students who were from the country they want to study abroad in or have a preference to. These mentor and mentee partners were then again put into groups, depending on the country they represented.
The OIA arranged an Ice Breaking session for the mentors, mentees and the groups, so that everyone could introduce themselves and create a friendly bond. For a fun and interactive learning session, games and various competitive activities, such as a game of True or False consisting of resourceful questions about the various programs in the OIA were conveyed.
“Although the previous presentation-type sessions were also beneficial, I think this event was much better because students could get personalized advice,” said Shin Myeong-hwa, a senior majoring in English. “It was easy for the mentors and mentees to interact actively as they all had similar interest.”
With last semester’s Exchange & Study Abroad Fair and last week’s Get it Global 2015, the OIA continues its efforts to educate and inform students of various exchange programs through interactive programs. The OIA hopes that students benefit from first hand experiences shared by exchange students, and that it inspires them to consider studying abroad.
Son Young-chai
squares@ewhain.net