SIGLOC-online Close Coverage by Yueling

	Hi everyone, my name is Yueling and I am the promotion assistant for the 10th SIGLOG-online. I spent the most colourful month interviewing all the participants for their genuine experience with SIGLOC-online, and I hope you can enjoy it with us by reading this blog as well.

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It’s time for the 10th SIGLOC-online with Osaka City University!

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Some may say an online program has less fun without seeing people in person, I say an online program gives you more opportunities to meet with people you never thought of before.

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This time, we have over 100 students enrolled in the SIGLOC-online, from 41 countries and regions including several continents. What’s more exciting than learning about people on the other side of the world’s hobbies, cultures and lifestyles!

 

An informative introduction is always the best way to start the program.

Considering that we have so many students from different time zones, the staff team has organized a total of 3 orientations to have students join the most suitable time for them.

Each session has around 30-60 students joining and meeting with the friendly staff team to enhance their understanding of this program.

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We had Professor Yoshi went through the 10th SIGLOC-online program’s structure and purposes in the beginning.
The SIGLOC-online is not only giving us global scope for sustainable issues, but also a great opportunity to have a diverse team to discuss these topics.

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Instructor Kuniko – Our superstar of the program has introduced everyone to the digital platforms we will be using during the SIGLOC-online.
Technology is extremely important during this time with an online program.
Kuniko patiently answered everyone’s questions and explained how to use these tools.

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There are many kind staff members on board to help with our program experience, this will be a wonderful month for every participant to learn and have fun.

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Maybe we are not that familiar with everything yet, but let’s see how things go in one month!

 

 

Here we are, the first chance to enjoy this intercultural experience with other participants!

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With three offered sessions like orientation, we get the chance to meet with people who might be the same or different from last time.
We created our self-intro slide in one document and met friends in groups.
We can share our culture and listen to others.

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During this session, lots of students have made friends who share values and insights.

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Let’s hear what did the students say!

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[June]: Overall, I really just like talking, I like hearing about them and their culture.
It was fun just talking normally with them.

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[Lecy]: This is my first time to be in this kind of program. It’s really exciting and fun for me.
I am learning and having friends from different countries. I met Thata and even my schoolmates.
I am actually having fun right now.

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[Lily]: Today’s opening session is really fun! Although I am a bit shy, everyone is nice to me.
I met Fred, who is a college student studying in Macau. He was helping me with the group activity and it’s nice to get helpful messages from others.

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It was a shame we have to part away with our new friends at the end of the session, but the journey does not end here.
In fact, it just started!

 

 

 

Andrews University (AU) and Osaka City University (OCU)’s students were very brave, they were the first ones to collaborate together and host a cultural activity for us!

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As you read in the name, it is an activity for sharing cultural knowledge with each other.
It’s not too late to join the event now, let’s go!

 

Wow, it was such a memorable day.
Not only that students from early morning and late night time zones pulled this perfectly together, but also the attractive and meaningful content created for the activity.

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The activity was running in the format of a game show, everyone can type their answers and win the best score.
Through a relaxed and engaging way of delivering cultural information, we believe the students enjoyed the game and the content.

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So what did the hosts think?

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[Fujisann]: 昨日の2回目のActivityの時にJonathonさんやArlenyさんが参加者に声掛けをしてくれたのが助かりました。
特にAUの発表の時のJonathonとArlenyの盛り上げ方が素晴らしくて、見てるこちらがとても楽しかったです！
ブレイクアウトルームでお話することはあまりなかったのですが、皆さん楽しんでおしゃべりしてくれていたみたいで嬉しかったです！
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(It was helpful that Jonathon and Arleny were able to talk to the participants during the second Activity yesterday.
The way Jonathon and Arleny got the crowd going, especially during the Andrews University’s presentation, was great fun to watch!
I didn’t get many opportunities to talk in the breakout room, but I was happy to see that everyone seemed to enjoy chatting with each other!)

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[Christen]: The entire activity was interesting, but I especially liked joining a breakout room, because my group discussed many of the cultural differences between our countries.
We mentioned public transportation, diversity in race/ethnicity and diversity in beliefs, languages, accents, and more.
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When you get a chance to actually interact in smaller groups and explain why people do certain things the way that they do, you really start to better understand that all of these differences are beautiful and they teach us to be more creative, to think outside of the box, and to see differences between people as valuable and worth learning more about.

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What’s the news about our exciting first week?

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Be prepared for our Session 1 task – Debate!
What a thrilling and lively way to know people’s thoughts and opinions.

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The debate topics are of course relevant to a global view of sustainability.
Students can choose either topic of “Global Supply Chain and Sustainable Society” or “Sustainability and Local Community”.

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We covered all kinds of aspects in our heated debate. Economics, environment, politics……all the way to personal influence towards these topics.
Only the sky is the limit.

Mark’s debating comments with his “opponent” Koharu

 

[Morgan]: The debate made me delve into the supply chain post COVID-19, which as opened my eyes to a whole new global perspective.

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[Vanessa]: The debate was pretty intense for me because I had no experience in the debate whatsoever, but it was interesting to be able to see a different perspective from other people.
You can kind of see what’s on their mind, how would they think, what answer should they know, etc.

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The big day of announcing group members finally came!

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You would never guess how your group members are like before you actually meet them.
Don’t be nervous, and pack your bags because we are going on a cultural adventure with your group together!

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A lot of students enjoyed their group experience and successfully presented their projects within time.
It’s unique because each team has its own communication, and it’s special because it brings different people to seek one agreement.

 

Group ‘RinGuoNas’ and their logo

 

Let’s hear what did members think about their group:

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[Dara]: Never did I imagine I would know different people here but yeah, I’m thankful.
I had fun with the other participants through sharing of cultures and even personal experiences which made me realize that they’re really expressive and I also have to.
I just wanna thank my team which is the “Mavericks”. They’re one-of-a-kind. They are cheerful persons, participative, creative and smart.

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[Mia]: I had fun during collaborative activities because we all listen up to other suggestions that can make a better outcome.
Fortunately, my group members are all friendly so we often exchange jokes and words of encouragement to motivate one another.
I learned a lot about their cultures, particularly their local foods and clothes that have significance in their homeland.
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I am beyond happy for being able to make new friends during this 10th SIGLOC and I hope that I’ll be able to meet them again for the succeeding international exchange student programs.

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Welcome to our week with the most popular task!

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Most of the students pick picture books as their favourite tasks, and we can find the reasons together.

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The picture book is one of the distinctive tasks designed by the SIGLOC-online.
Students are able to communicate ideas with visuals and examples.
With assigned community to investigate and explore, this week the students are aiming to develop their research skills.

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While the challenge has begun, there is no limitation on the content focus.
The students are encouraged to find their own resources and framework, and then present appealing proposals for their selected communities.

 

Pau’s picture book cover

 

Jai’s proposal and discussion with her group members

 

[Koharu]: Picturebook was my favourite.
It made me not only recognize and organize issues of my own countries but also understand other countries/cities’ situations easily by reading others’!

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[Morgan]: My favourite task is doing the picturebook proposals, as I can convey my ideas on paper and test the feasibility of it from a sustainability perspective.

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First of all, I want to congratulate those students who survived up to the last week!

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They have put hard work and great effort into this program and I hope they had some valuable experience along the way.

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We are building our final product and allocating all the data and information in the correct places.

Lea’s project information worksheet

 

Reflection is a tool to summarise one’s experience on how to keep advantages and improve insufficiencies.

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Students are required to write a reflection on their tasks so far so that they can revisit their personal SIGLOC-online experience whenever they can.

 

Angeline’s reflection report

 

Wait, we are not finished yet!

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Get ready because lots of cultural activities are coming on the way!

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Apart from the first cultural activity collaborated by Osaka City University and Andrews University, we also had many groups signed up for hosting these events as well!

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They are passionate to be the bridge for exchanging cultural experiences and enjoyed them just like the participants.
At the end of the day, everyone is satisfied with what they receive from these activities.

 

Seanny’s group is sending out invitations for their cultural activity

 

Kevin’s group as a host and their cultural activity session

 

What do the hosts think about the activities?

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[Kevin]: Our cultural activity was successful.
At first, we don’t know how to start and when to start, but I am optimistic that it will happen.
When our cultural activity was going on, participants from other groups joined us and actively participated in our activities.
We had a discussion on our diverse culture, there was a showcase of talents, and we also sang together before the meeting was done.
It is really wonderful, memorable, and helpful.
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From our cultural activity, I learned that our Muslim brothers and sisters do not eat pork. I also learned how they celebrate parties.
I hope I can meet them one day personally.

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[Claire]: My experience in the cultural event that we had was a great one.
I was able to showcase my skills in facilitating groups and engaging with others from different countries.
I enjoyed working with my group mates from East-West Collective as well as listening and talking to our fellow participants.
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Indeed, not only that I gained new insights about other cultures but I also gained meaningful memories and friends.

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[Seanny]: It was fun learning about other cultures aside from yours at the same time we were able to connect by sharing some of our favourite food, music, and attraction in our respective countries.
At first, I was nervous because I am the leader of the group and it feels like I have the whole responsibility to make the session active and fruitful but thanks to my groupmate they were pulling off their part..
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I have gained friends and I was able to gain a connection with them.
I am optimistic that everyone who participated in yesterday’s session enjoyed it as well and has learned a lot from it.

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All the hard work paid off!

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Today is the day we share our knowledge, research and jubilation.

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The Final Presentation Day was full of friendly discussion and constant laughter.
Who would have thought we obtained so many things from attending the 10th SIGLOC-online?

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We will remember this day and all the joy we had during the SIGLOC-online.

The ideal progress is dividing the whole session’s students into breakout rooms, and you will be able to share your project with all the viewers that belong to your breakout room.

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It’s totally random, so we raised another chance for students to meet new friends!
Gladly, some of them did!

One of the breakout rooms during the final presentation

 

Students are presenting their projects in the breakout room

 

A few students shared their comments about the presentation day:

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[Nurin]: Mix feelings during the final presentation.
I’m a bit nervous to do the presentation as I am not really fluent in English. But I managed to present it well with the help of another member in breakout rooms.
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Some moments when I don’t remember a word in English, they try hard to help me to explain it even though they did not understand what I mean.
I think it was a funny moment and it is also a memorable moment to be remembered because they gave a lot of support to me. I feel touched.

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[Ara]: The final presentation turned out quite well.
The presentation sharing was quite interesting because I learned a lot about different issues from different countries.
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I also learned about the various interventions they used to alleviate the problem.
I also appreciate other people’s opinions on the issue I presented.

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We are now coming to the finish line of the 10th SIGLOC-online.

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It’s the time to pick up our complex emotions and be grateful to those who have supported us.
Please remember, today’s farewell only means that SIGLOC-online has ended, but not our friendships or treasured memories!

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For the admin team, we will continue to bring more exhilarating content to future students.
You are always welcome to join us in future SIGLOCs and share your amazing stories with participants.

Students from all over the world who participated in the 10th SIGLOC-online

 

A few students have kindly provided their feedback about the program, let’s hear them out:

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[Fred]: I think SIGLOC is a very meaningful project, it gathers the ideas of young people from all over the world, according to the community issues in various countries, to make suggestions for the sustainable development of the world.
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I personally feel that I have a better understanding of the cultures of other countries because before the epidemic, I had travelled to various countries in the world and participated in some local cultural exchange programs.
And since I’m currently studying in Macau, it’s an international region with a mix of cultures.

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[Kay]: SIGLOC is an interesting global online learning project.
I have had many interesting collaborations with my team members, and it has made me appreciate the cultural differences.
I think after this event, I have deepened my understanding of the Philippines especially.

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Thank you for reading this blog!

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Maybe next time, I will see you around in the SIGLOC-online, because why not?

 

Apply for SIGLOC-online
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Please click HERE to read the past SIGLOC-online Reports.

 

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COIL Promotion Office,
Osaka Metropolitan University, Japan

Email: gr-las-coil_@omu.ac.jp [ Inquiry form ]

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*In April 2022, Osaka City University and Osaka Prefecture University united to form the Osaka Metropolitan University (OMU).