2. TABLE OF CONTENTS
EXCHANGE PREPARATION CONFERENCE 2015
GENERAL 2
Attendance 2
Guest Speakers 2
Global Issues 3
Networking Lunch 3
Feedback Forms 3
Letter Activity 3
General Tips 3
LOGISTICS 4
Before the Conference 4
During the Conference 4
MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS 5
Graphic Elements 5
Social Media 6
General Tips 6
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3. GENERAL
ATTENDANCE
A total of 31 people were expected to show up for the first ever AIESEC exchange conference
however, only 25 people were accounted for. Of the 25 people who attended the event, 12 of them
consisted of AIESEC members and 13 of them were EPs.
The EPs included:
• John Cao
• Lisa Mo
• Nicole Chan
• Katya Pokrovskaya
• Kerri Jesson
• Paige Sandher
• Laura Cheng
• Dorsa Sarraf
• Lachlan Karr
• Erika Pan
• Jennia Palecek
• Cory Cheung
The 1 lead that also attended this event was Vojtek Purchla which accounts for the total of 25 people
who attended the event.
GUEST SPEAKERS
Speakers were selected on the basis of their experiences with the subject, their current position in
AIESEC as well as their suitability in getting the needed messages across to the EPs regarding the
specific subjects. Speakers were mostly invited through some sort of social media/ media platform
such as Facebook messaging or emails. This was also the method that was used to keep in touch
with the speakers of the conference as well.
The speakers that were invited were and their sessions are as follows:
• Katherine Karr Chair
• Jennifer Liu Resume Building
• Sophie Yao Budgeting Workshop
• Megan Law Culture Shock
• Satwinder Gill Culture Shock
• Ruby Chou Global Issues
• Devin Swan Global Issues
• Jeremy Kung Global Issues
• Anna Zia Global Issues
The Opening Plenary and AIESEC impact presented by Katherine and Anna respectively went great
for exchange participants as they were getting to know more about what AIESEC really is and the
stories that AIESEC can have.
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AIESEC SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY: EXCHANGE PREPARATION CONFERENCE 2015
4. Although the Budgeting Workshop ran by Sophie gave a lot of tips, the scenario/role-playing
was confusing for EPs and leads as they didn’t have clear understandings regarding iGIP/
iGCDP in terms how the pay worked for the different type of projects. Jennifer’s Resume
Building session gave the EPs a lot of suggestions in terms of how they could improve their
resumes however, there wasn’t ample time for them to thoroughly fix it.
GLOBAL ISSUES
3 of our past Exchange Participants were invited to lead a discussion on a particular global
issue in their exchange country. Our Exchange Participants were able to learn about
issues ranging from gender inequality, poverty, and low literacy rate. The session ran for
approximately 30 minutes.
NETWORKING LUNCH
What food and drink were served?
Pizza and pops were served for the Networking Lunch. The pizza was ordered from Mega
Bite pizza.
What were the objectives for this session?
The objective of this session was for EPs and leads to mingle with AIESECers in order for
them to not only get to know a little bit more about what AIESEC is but also what kind of
exchange experiences each of the AIESECers had through their AIESEC exchange.
What was the atmosphere like?
The atmosphere was very casual as everyone ate and talked however, communication
wasn’t super balanced as EPs and leads gave more short responses and were more on the
side of asking questions as opposed.
Was it successful?
The Global Issues session ran by Ruby, Devin, Jeremy allowed participants to gather into
small groups, each one led by one of them, which created an extra platform during the
networking lunch as their group mates gathered around them to get more to know each of
the 3 previous exchange participants’ stories. This also was the same thing with Satwinder
and Megan who presented collaboratively on Culture Shock.The only problem with this
portion was that participants were already in their comfortable groups and did not want to
switch with AIESEC members when it came time for them to switch so we allowed them to
stay and mingle in their groups.
FEEDBACK FORMS
About a week after the conference, an email was sent out with a feedback form, asking our
Exchange Participants on ways to improve. Here are some of the questions asked:
• On a scale of 1 to 5, how would you rate Opening Plenary?
• What did you like most about the conference?
• Any additional comments regarding the conference?
GENERAL
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AIESEC SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY: EXCHANGE PREPARATION CONFERENCE 2015
5. Based on the responses, most of our Exchange Participants had a positive experience at
the Exchange Preparation Conference. In addition, the Global Issues session was rated the
highest.
LETTER ACTIVITY
A letter activity was done to wrap up the conference. Our Exchange Participants were told
to write a letter for them to read after they come back from their exchange. Here are a few
suggested questions our EPs should touch upon in their letter:
• How are you feeling about going on an exchange?
• What do you hope to accomplish through this exchange?
• What’s your ideal day abroad like?
GENERAL TIPS
• Start conference half an hour later next time as the projector couldn’t be borrowed
until the librarians started their shifts
• Know the prices for the printer so multiple trips to the printing station at the library
won’t be necessary
• Have a better flow of things at the beginning so EPs and leads know to have their
picture taken with the exchange prop before seating down
• Better communication and confirmation with EPs as some pulled out not knowing that
the conference was today. In the future, if these are EPs (not leads), emphasize that
it is mandatory for them to show up to EPC if they’re planning on going on exchange
soon!
• Send thank-you emails/cards to speakers after the conference. Maintaining a good
relationship with the speakers will benefit the LC in the future.
GENERAL
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AIESEC SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY: EXCHANGE PREPARATION CONFERENCE 2015
6. LOGISTICS
BEFORE THE CONFERENCE
Weekly detailed emails were sent to our attending Exchange Participants to ensure they are prepared
for the conference. In order to ensure that our Exchange Participants still plan on attending and
remember to attend, we sent them a reminder email 3 days before the conference. If they did not
respond, a member of the OC personally called them for their answer.
DURING THE CONFERENCE
During the conference, we were able to go through all the sessions as planned. Although we were
early on some portions, we made up for it by letting others run a little over however, the conference
did end on time as planned. No chairs or tables were moved around while the conference was
happening. Everything in the conference went according to plan except that the Global Issues session
finished very quickly. To improvise for this time, we allowed the EPs and leads to get a taste of some
AIESEC dances before heading into the Networking lunch.
ENGAGE. INSPIRE. DISCOVER.
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AIESEC SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY: EXCHANGE PREPARATION CONFERENCE 2015
7. MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS
GRAPHIC ELEMENTS
A simple, yet creative emblem was created for the Exchange Preparation Conference that was
incorporated into promotional materials, logistics, and participant incentives. The use of the logo was
consistent throughout PowerPoint presentation templates, Facebook event cover photo, certificates,
and adhered to the branding standards of AIESEC. Throughout the conference, a standardized
PowerPoint slide deck was made to convey uniformity with the presentations and simulations. All of
the graphic elements for the Exchange Preparation Conference were created with Adobe Photoshop
and Adobe Illustrator. The process was not time consuming since the emblem consisted of logotype
and an arrow directing to the conference slogan, “Engange. Discover. Inspire.”
As for media, a video showcasing past and current Exchange Participants were presented during
the conference. The video was edited with Adobe Premiere Pro, which did require a lot of time to
edit; however, rendering and exporting the final product was tedious in order to compromise with the
overall quality.
All the conference participants were awarded certificates upon their completion with the workshops,
and to acknowledge their participation in the Exchange Preparation Conference. The certificate
template was made with Adobe Photoshop and Adobe InDesign. They were printed through with
Simon Fraser Student Society Copy Centre, one of the sponsors for AIESEC and the Exchange
Preparation Conference.
SOCIAL MEDIA
The Exhange Preparation Conference was heavily promoted on Facebook through the AIESEC SFU
page and its own event page. Registration was available through Google Forms that provided the
Organizing Committee information on who to expect, which made the logistical process a lot easier
to handle. Also, photographs were taken during the conference and were posted on the AIESEC SFU
page to highlight the success of the Exchange Preparation Conference.
GENERAL TIPS
• Reach out on other social meadia platforms (Twitter, Instagram, Youtube) other than facebook to
maximize exposure.
• Promote incentives for prospective participants to increse attendance level
• Collaborate with the Marketing and Communications portfolio to determine prospect participants
taken from completed consultations and review board.
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