＜概要／目的＞
This activity was done to ensure a smooth flow of the exchange, from preparation of receiving laboratories to ensuring that the University of Seoul students arrived safely back in Korea.

＜方法／企画としての特徴＞
The execution of the overall planning involved the following: (1) multiple meetings with student organizers, (2) coordination with UOS students, (3) division of tasks, (4) constant communication with Fukuda-sensei, (5) constant coordination with student organizers, (6) monitoring of every day and communication with UOS students, (7) dealing with unexpected circumstances.
The UOS exchange began with an initial meeting with the student organizers, where everyone got an overhead view of what to expect and plan for during the exchange. From then on, we organized ourselves and gathered everyone together on Line, where we scheduled meetings with each other and clarified matters with each other. We then got introduced to the UOS students by a zoom meeting, where we were able to meet and introduce to each other and ask questions and preferences. Later, the group discussed on how to divide the tasks for the exchange, and we voted on decision matters using the poll feature of Line. Before the UOS students arrived, and while they were in Japan, we kept constant communication with Fukuda-sensei in order to deal with issues as they arise. We also frequently communicated with the UOS students so that we can adjust to the things they need as the need arises. Finally, we monitored everything was in proper order, and monitored everything up to the UOS students’ arrival in Korea.

＜活動内容／具体的成果＞
(1)        Meetings – we held meetings between the student organizers as often as they were necessary. Due to the large number of the group, we had to work around schedule differences. We discussed in person, but we also made sure to give updates on the Line group and by email, so that everyone will find the information they need. Since time was limited, these meetings really helped clarify with everyone what is going to happen, and it helped us negotiate if there are overlapping interests and other difficulties.
(2)        Coordination – this involved constantly checking that individual activities are progressing without problem. This was accomplished by communications by Line and by email, and sometimes by talking to others in person. Additionally, concerns that cannot be clarified between the students were consulted with Fukuda-sensei and relayed to everyone.
(3)        Communication with UOS – this was done in person and by email via their coordinator (student). We talked to them about preferences and needs and got updates for how things were going and issues that arose during their stay.

Overall, this activity was mostly focused on monitoring and coordinating with everyone since there are a lot of people involved. The end result was that we were able to follow the schedule without much trouble, and generally everyone was able to have a productive and fun time. We were also able to deal with unexpected problems such as a person arriving late, losing passport, and leaving a mobile phone behind in the bus terminal.

＜感想／課題など（企画力／評価力／自主性等の向上を含む）＞
Organizer Availability – probably one of the more challenging things about organizing the exchange is that some organizers are very busy with other things while the hectic exchange is going on. This meant that some of the people were sometimes unavailable to help out or difficult to get replies from, so a lot of the work is left to the few who are freer. I think especially for the chair and vice-chair, it maybe better to assign people who are not super loaded in the weeks where the preparations (e.g. one week before exchange) to the period of the exchange, since there is quite a lot of things to monitor in those two weeks. Given the short time of preparation for the exchange, as well as that we lack the experience from previous year because of the corona situation, everything required almost constant attention at that time. I think it is very important that there are people who are always paying attention to what is happening so that it won’t be a problem if some of the other organizers are not available.
 
Lab Assignment – I think lab assignment for this year went okay, considering that we don’t have previous year experience. This meant that we had to figure out what to do with the UOS students as we go along. We also were initially concerned that there will not be enough laboratories for the students since the organizers are concentrated in three laboratories, and there were 10 UOS students to distribute. I think it would have been more difficult for the UOS students to have a productive laboratory exchange in the absence of organizers in the lab, since other students in the labs are also busy and would not necessarily have time to take care of the students. Thankfully it worked out for us since Fukuda-sensei accepted students in her lab despite an organizer not being there, as well as a single student organizer in another laboratory agreeing to take charge of two people despite being alone.

Exchange Schedule – The UOS schedule of activities are understandably short in consideration of budget and things like that, so it is also understandable that not everything can be done. However, I think that the days in which they came here could have been better. For example, arriving on a Wednesday and leaving on a Monday would have been better for the laboratory experience (e.g. two consecutive days of lab instead of having a weekend in between two days)

Language and Communication – another challenge in this entire activity is language, both on the side of the organizers and also communicating with the UOS students. For the organizer group, there were a lot of people coming from many different countries and speaking many different first languages. This means that while we had meetings and we tried to give people as much information as we could, sometimes the information still doesn’t sit that well because of sender and receiver language difficulties. Obviously this is to be expected in an international exchange, but it is important to have this language difficulty in mind while planning and executing the exchange so that people can be patient with one another in resolving misunderstandings (or lack of understanding).