Gwanak-gu-Seoul National University 2021 Winter Semester SAM Mentoring Non-Face-to-Face Operation

Due to the Implementation of Social Distancing Level 2.5, Full Online Mentoring Conducted Using ZOOM App... 225 Mentors and 658 Mentees Participated in 2020... Positive Evaluations Including Academic Achievement and Confidence Improvement

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Gwanak-gu (Mayor Park Jun-hee), in collaboration with Seoul National University, is operating the 2021 Winter Semester SAM Mentoring program online as a school-government cooperative project.

SAM (SNU Active Mentoring) mentoring is a program where Seoul National University students serve as mentors to local youth, providing academic and career counseling.

By utilizing Seoul National University's excellent resources, the program aims to enhance educational competitiveness in the region, offering not only academic guidance but also career and personal counseling to help cultivate proper emotional development during adolescence.

For this winter semester, 89 Seoul National University students participated as mentors, matching 244 mentees from local schools and community child centers, ranging from 3rd grade elementary to 2nd grade high school students, at an average ratio of 1:3.

Last year, the program was conducted both in-person and online, but due to the re-spread of COVID-19 and the implementation of social distancing level 2.5, the 2021 winter semester mentoring will be conducted entirely online.

All mentoring sessions will be held online via the video conferencing program ZOOM, free of charge, from January 4 to February 19, with each session lasting 2 hours and a total of 20 sessions.

Meanwhile, in 2020, the SAM mentoring program involved a total of 883 participants from 26 elementary, middle, and high schools and 34 community child centers, showing positive outcomes such as improved interpersonal skills, academic achievement, and increased confidence among youth.

Mayor Park Jun-hee stated, “I hope this online mentoring will be a great opportunity to motivate and encourage children who have to stay at home due to COVID-19 to engage in learning.” He added, “Going forward, the district will take the lead in strengthening local educational competitiveness by creating a new educational environment for the post-COVID era and actively utilizing the human resources of Seoul National University.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.