Together ‘Bridging the Gap’ - Panel Discussion
August 27, 2021 at 12:30 PM - August 28, 2021 at 12:30 PM @ Online event
Description
‘ Together – Bridging the Gap’ is a project organized by the IEEE WIE Affinity Groups of SLTC (IEEE Sri Lanka Section - Region 10 ) and UNA ( IEEE Paraguay Section - Region 09) in partnership with Model United Nations Club of SLTC. The purpose of the project is to create opportunities where non-English speakers STEM students from the universities of UNA ((Universidad Nacional de Asuncion) and SLTC ( Sri Lanka Technological Campus) can participate together and practice their speaking and writing skills while they can share their culture during the process of learning. The alliance of WIE SLTC and WIE UNA resulted in the project “Together”. It is the first international student collaborative project at SLTC and the first international project of WIE SLTC. Together was conducted over a period of 5 days (one session per week) with the goal of The need for good communication skills in foreign languages in almost every aspect of life and work has now become more widely recognized in every field . In order to improve English proficiency, the appropriate measures need to be taken and implemented in a rigorous and determined way at every level. We too created a platform to support our participants with this task in order to provide them guidance. The Panel Discussion of Together was held on Saturday, the 28th of August 2021 at 6:30 pm ( SL time ) / 9:00 am (Paraguayan time ) via the online platform Zoom. It was held under the theme, ‘English as a second language in professional life’. Unlike the previous sessions of Together, the panel discussion was an open event to anyone who wished to participate. The panel discussion comprised of communication with respected panelists from Sri Lanka and Paraguay where questions were covered from four topics: Adaptations on living in a foreign country Importance of English as a second language The significance of learning English under respective cultures The obstacles in excelling in English Special focus was given to Give guidance to build the career path through English knowledge as professionals. Comprehend the cultural and growth backgrounds to identify obstacles and enhance proficiency in English. Establish the importance of English as the universal language through day-to-day lively scenarios The panelists who joined with us for the session are; MSc. Eng. Tania Vargas (Paraguay). Msc. Samantha Wickramasinghe (Sri Lanka). The panel discussion followed a “ mini-congress ” concept. The participants who joined us represented two countries, several ethnicities and various races. The panel discussion allowed participants to present their doubts to the panelists and receive guidance in return. The program followed categorically in 4 sections; Section 1: Academic and Professional Development Section 2: Cultural and Social Advice Section 3: Challenges Section 4: Improvement and Advice on overcoming the obstacles The panelists gave insightful solutions to common problems faced by non-English speaking students in professional backgrounds as well as personally. The provision of advice from the personal experience of the panelists was a highlight of the event. The discussion was open to all participants who also got a chance to voice their opinions and questions. Such questions presented covered key areas of professional life, cultural shock in professional environments, common challenges and ways to improve. Our participants were able to gain a useful experience that will support their academics and professional career. The feedback from our participants indicated that they strongly agree with the panel discussion helping them to clarify the doubts they had. The numerous feedback we received also requested for similar programs in the future to be organized as well.
Agenda
*Time mentioned by Time zone in Paraguay (GMT-4) 9:00 AM - 9:05 AM Introduction of the project and introduction of panelists 9:05 AM - 9:25 AM Section 1: Academic and Professional Development 9:25 AM - 9:45 AM Section 2: Cultural and Social Advices 9.45 AM - 10:05 AM Section 3: Challenges 10:05 AM - 10:25 AM Section 4: Improvement and Advice on overcoming the obstacles 10:25 AM - 10:35 AM Audience Questions And Answers 10:35 AM - 10:40 AM Adjourn