On January 27 (Wednesday), 2021, various online training sessions were conducted for 77 resident assistants (RAs) at international dormitories (i.e., Takiyama International Dormitory, Manyo International Dormitory, Soshun Dormitory, and Sunflower Hall), who will be supporting the academic year 2021.

RAs are student volunteer staff that support the dormitory lives of international students and Japanese students and that conduct dormitory operations while residing in the dorms themselves. The goal of RA training is to encourage the participants to think about the roles of an RA together as they prepare to welcome dorm students, as well as to share knowledge and ways to cope with various situations in order to support the students’ dormitory life.

For this, an activity report was shared by a senior RA that served in this role the previous academic year, a lecture was given by Dr. Masashi Nemoto of the health center on infection disease measures, and a lecture was given by a staff of the International Division on things to keep in mind when communicating with international students. This was followed by discussions on what kind of dormitory life they would actually like to promote. The training turned out to be fruitful, with various opinions exchanged.

The participating students commented as follows:

・“I was able to learn at today’s training the ideal operations for international students’ dormitories and the role of RAs. Through various discussions, I felt that I want to support those that will join the dorms, using what I learned from this dialogue, as we shared various ways of thinking and views on values.” (From a senior member)