【管院交換生接待志工 Buddy Program】110-2管院國際學生迎新

國際事務室暨GMBA辦公室

撰文者/陳柏宏

受到疫情的影響,交換生仍無法入境,因此110-2的管院國際學生迎新活動在籌備之初就已決定改為全面線上。線上的活動少了實際的人與人之間交流,再加上參與線上交換計畫的人數較少,在人數及互動方式有限的狀況下,我們今年更著重於內容的趣味性以及透過遊戲打破彼此之間語言、國界的藩籬,讓大家得以有互享討論的機會。

今年的迎新活動主要分為三大部分:介紹台灣及台大、彼此互相認識以及遊戲時間。在開場時,我們使用台大管院所拍攝的國際學生招生影片《College of Management, National Taiwan University – Where do you see yourself in the future?》以及知名Youtbube頻道Taiwan Bar的影片,以不同角度介紹台灣以及台大。之後,Buddy Program的同學們也各自分享台灣的觀光景點、節慶、食物、習俗以及台大管院與台大歷史,最後以Kahoot讓國際生們測試自己的理解程度,前幾名的贏家答對率極高,甚至有人接近全對。

進入線上分組討論後,自我介紹環節讓本地與國際學生彼此更加互相熟悉,本地學生也進行簡單的中文自我介紹教學,國際生們都很願意嘗試及開口,最後我們以Gartic的「你畫我猜」小遊戲及問答時間結束整場會議。我們發現透過此一系列的線上活動不僅可以促進台大學生及國際生之間的文化交流,也讓我們得以打破國界與世界各地的學生交朋友。

整個迎新過程中,最後的分組時間是最精華的亮點。由於人數比較少,國際學生也比較願意開口分享。自我介紹時段我們提供給學生一個制式的模板,減少他們需要重新構思的時間,由於我們有請他們分享在自己國家最喜歡的人事物,聽完他們的分享,不僅更加了解不同國家的文化及嗜好,意外也發現許多台灣的元素也深植於其他國家,我還記得有一位新加坡學生分享到他從小聽到大的歌是翁立友的《我問天》,甚至到現在走在路上還偶爾會聽到。也有一些國際學生透過這次交流的機會,意外發現他與另一名交換生正在同一座城市裡,我想這也是辦理此活動的初衷,雖然沒有辦法實際在台灣相見,但卻可以另一種形式與彼此串聯,搭建起國際友誼的橋樑。

對我來說,最大的收穫應該也是與其他台大的籌備夥伴彼此認識的過程,從學期間的籌備,我們每一次的會議都是線上進行,也因為有了這次的迎新活動才讓我們彼此有實際相遇的機會,終於從網友晉升為真朋友,甚至成為未來一起修課的好同學。再次感謝管院國際事務室的用心,我也要特別感謝Gina一路以來的協助,才能讓整個活動如此順利,而且充滿活力。

 

【NTU CoM Buddy Program】Virtual Orientation

Bo-Hong Chen

Due to the impact of the pandemic, the orientation for incoming international students this year was shift to online entirely from the very beginning. With less in-person interaction and fewer exchange students, our virtual orientation stressed the importance of the content and therefore developed games to break the ice and encourage more engagement during the whole process.

This year’s virtual orientation included a brief introduction of Taiwan and NTU, a session for international students to know more about each other, and some trivia game time. In the opening, we played the video produced by NTU College of Management “College of Management, National Taiwan University – Where do you see yourself in the future?” and another one from a YouTube channel, Taiwan Bar, which helped us appreciate Taiwan and NTU from different perspectives.

Soon after that, our team from buddy program shared some Taiwanese tourist spots, festivals, delicious foods as well as some trivia about NTU. We also tested their understanding though a gamified online test, Kahoot, where some of them even got all the questions right. In the breakout session, international students got to know more about us and each other through a brief self-introduction. We also taught them some simple Chinese phrases to introduce themselves, and we are really surprised that many of them found it interesting and were so willing to speak up. Finally, we used Gartic (a draw and guess game) and Q&A to wrap up our meeting. We discovered that through these interactive activities, we could facilitate the mutual cultural exchange between NTU students and those from around the globe.

I believe that the highlight of the whole process would be the breakout session. With less participants, it means that we also have more time for everyone to speak up. By providing a template for international students to prepare their self-introductions, we get to know more about them in depth. It’s interesting to hear that there are lots of Taiwanese songs still playing in Singapore and we are also surprised to find out that two exchange students from different countries are actually in the same city in Thailand. We are extremely happy to facilitate such connection and help build a strong friendship that break the boundary.

To me, I think the friendship that I bond with other NTU teammates during the whole preparation is what I treasure the most. As we mostly conducted our meeting online, this was the very first time we met in person. And because of this opportunity, we got to learn more about each other and collectively made this event happen. I am sincerely grateful for everything that CoM OIA has helped us with all along, and my special credit would go to Gina. Without her, we couldn’t make all these happen as successful and vibrant as it was.