Together ‘Bridging the Gap’ - Integration
September 3, 2021 at 1:00 PM - September 4, 2021 at 3:00 PM @ Online event
Description
“Together – Bridging the Gap” was 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 project is a result of the international alliance formed with WIE SLTC (Sri Lanka Technological Campus) and WIE UNA (Universidad Nacional de Asuncion) from Paraguay. It was the first project organized in collaboration with an international student community at SLTC. This will also be the first international project of the IEEE WIE Affinity Group of SLTC . The project came forward as a solution to enhance and improve the English proficiency of both SLTC and UNA undergraduates. The project was specifically tailored to provide a fun learning experience along with engineering topics and to share cultural values with each other as well. It was a bridge connecting Region 9 and Region 10 as well. The overall project consisted of 5 sessions structured to improve the key competency areas of reading, writing, listening, speaking, and professionalism. The final session of Together was the “Integration”. The best way to conclude a journey like Together is by providing a platform to network, share each other's ideas, experiences and cultural values. The Integration was a closing note of that nature. It was designed to be the ideal platform for undergraduates of both nations to get to know and befriend each other whilst getting engrossed in each other’s' cultures and national identities. The integration was moderated by project lead coordinators. Sakuni Punmina (WIE SLTC) and Yumi Kikuchi(WIE UNA). The first segment of the Integration was a presentation of short films on remarkable women in STEM . Each team was assigned a field of which they will select a woman in STEM that they wish to honor. The provided fields were; Astronomy Physics Informatics Math Chemistry Accordingly, the teams presented short -videos that celebrated some of the greatest women STEM idols of all time. The Integration was organized to provide fun elements to the hectic schedules of STEM students and a reminder with our own spin -remember to enjoy. English and the interest for engineering was the medium that connected us together. When planning the Integration, the requests of the participants were paid attention to. In accordance with such requests, it was evident that the cultural exchange will be given the spotlight at the Integration. All our participants were eager to learn about each other’s languages along with English. The next event for the day brought everyone closer while learning about each other's languages. The game unfolded with words being displayed on the screen both in Sinhala and Gurani. The team will have to sing a song that includes the same word in English. The participants flexed their vocals amazingly as they showed their competitiveness to rack-up points. Since music can help to bring people even closer the next game was to guess the song. Covers of popular English songs in both Sinhala and Gurani were played. The participants had to guess the correct English title inorder to win. The sessions were very much loved by the participants as it helped them to learn more about the native languages of both countries. The Integration was packed with activities and the next session was Say it with mimics. A team member will be given a word that they must mimic to the rest of the group. A correct guess will ensure their victory. After sessions that focused more on reading, writing and speaking skills, it was a novel experience for the participants to witness their acting skills as well. Focusing on the original aim of the project, the teams were also given a crossword to develop their vocabulary skills once again. It was the last activity for the day and the teams performed exceptionally well on the task. It was evident that the participants have improved their skills by the end of the project, which was an achievement for all us at Together. Dances that represented our cultures a part of the “Cultural Exchange” concept of Together. Despite the geographical distance. the organizing committee at Together was able to provide all our participants a glimpse of the unique culture virtually through this collaboration. The winners of the Integration were announced and the teams that showed the most active engagement were named as the best team as well. The Integration came to a conclusion with the thanking of project co-chairperson, Dalia Ruiz Diaz(Chairman – WIE UNA), Michelle Perera(Chairman -WIE SLTC) and Jananga Sooriyarachchi ( President – MUN Club of SLTC). The integration marked the successful conclusion of Project Together with the hope to do more collaborations with our “Friends Overseas”.
Agenda
*Time mentioned by Time zone in Paraguay (GMT-4) 09:00 -09:15 am Greetings 09:15 -09:30 am Short film présentation 09:30- 09:45 am Dynamic 1 09:45- 10:00 am Dynamic 2 10:00- 10:15 am Dynamic 3 10:15 -10:30 am Dynamic 4 10:30 - 11:00 Cultural events 11:00 -11:05 Finale