The "Reflections Abroad: Perspectives on Culture, Identity & Self" Student Conference on Friday, December 14th is quickly approaching! As the Social Media Team, we are going to be conducting a series of interviews with the conference participants and people involved. The first of our interviews is with CEA's Assistant Academic Dean, Christopher Edwards.
1) When was the idea for the student conference created?
The inaugural, Reflections Abroad conference took place in Spring 2011 making this session the conference’s fourth. That being said the idea originated about a year earlier as a way of emphasizing student-centric academic achievement in a way that benefits not only CEA students but potentially the community at large.
2) How has the conference evolved throughout the years?
The first edition was small and comprised of only students in the Communication & Global Competence course. Since then the COM340 students have taken on a much more prominent role in organizing the conference logistics with only a select few actually presenting. We consider student participation as the barometer of success for the conference. Based on that metric, and given the wide range of presentations that were submitted this year it’s clear that we have made great strides in two years!
The first edition was small and comprised of only students in the Communication & Global Competence course. Since then the COM340 students have taken on a much more prominent role in organizing the conference logistics with only a select few actually presenting. We consider student participation as the barometer of success for the conference. Based on that metric, and given the wide range of presentations that were submitted this year it’s clear that we have made great strides in two years!
3) What can we expect from this year’s conference?
A greater variety of topics from a more diverse group of students. Topics range from sports to fashion, including both scholarly and creative presentations in both English and in French. The COM340 students are also taking very seriously the organization of this semester’s conference: we can expect a high level of professionalism.
4) Overall, what is the main objective you hope that students will get out of the conference?
The conference’s primary objective is to provide students with a opportunity to present their work in an official and professional capacity. We hope that this is but an impetus for students to seek out other opportunities for presenting their research/creative projects and to have the confidence that they can succeed in doing so. There is, of course, an underlying desire to have students reflecting upon their experience abroad as an opportunity for personal and intellectual growth.
Updates with be posted on the blog regarding the conference so keep checking back!
- The CEA Conference Social Media Team