EPIK Promotion in the USA and Canada

As more and more qualified candidates are interested in becoming Guest English Teachers (GETs) through EPIK, EPIK has decided to promote for the March 2011 semester in the USA and Canada. The delegations of the National Institute for International Education (NIIED) were divided into two groups for two different destinations; The USA and Canada Mi-Rae Jung, EPIK Deputy Director, and Yoo-Sun Song, Promotion Manager, visited three cities in Texas from September 12th to the 19th: Austin, Dallas, and Houston. During the 8-day trip, they held training sessions for the 2011 Spring semester on Guidelines for the Recruitment of EPIK Teachers for partner organizations under the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), as well as for the Houston Korean Education Center. They participated in the Career EXPO at the University of Texas at Dallas for the promotion of the EPIK program. They also visited the career center at the University of Texas at Austin and at Dallas, respectively, to introduce and promote the program. Information Sessions on EPIK and TaLK were held at the University of Houston, the University of North Texas, and at the Association of International Development and Exchange (AIDE). As expected, a large number of students and prospective graduates showed great interest in the program, and the EPIK team members could feel the growing popularity of the program. Bong-Hee Ryu, Director of the English Support Department at NIIED, Woon-Seok Gang, Education Researcher of Planning and Budget Team at NIIED, Dong-Hee Kim, EPIK Director and Promotion Manager Dan-Young Won went on an 8-day trip in Canada to Vancouver and Toronto from September 27th to October 4th to promote the EPIK and TaLK program, the sister program of EPIK. The EPIK delegates participated in Career Days 2010, the biggest career fair hosted by the University of British Columbia. Alongside with EPIK, 70 organizations who were seeking qualified human resources participated in the event. Both EPIK and TaLK drew a lot of attention from students. Also, they co-hosted the Information Session at the University of Toronto and did not miss the opportunity to visit Canadian recruiting agencies working for EPIK, despite the tight schedule. Visiting staff members of recruiting agencies and partner organizations under MOA with EPIK in Canada provided the EPIK officers the opportunity to explain guidelines for the new semester's recruitment and to strengthen the working relationship for future cooperation. In addition to that, meetings were held among EPIK members and members from MOA organizations, Korea Consulate in Vancouver, Korea Consulate in Toronto, and Toronto Korean Education Center to provide recruiting information and to promote the program. The 8 day trip was relatively hectic and demanding, scheduled with many meetings and sessions. The trip, however, was very successful in passing on information on EPIK and TaLK to both future candidates and partner organizations.