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YU start-up club ‘Partz Studio’ proposes new occupation to win ‘gold medal’ at the Job Creation Awards Finding new value by recycling old clothes with many memories Produced prototypes showing its potential as a new occupation [January 30, 2019] <YU Start-up Club Partz Studio> (front row left to right, Seo Gi-tae, Yoo Gwang-jin, Jung Gyeong-min, back row left to right, Kang Ryang-gwan, Park Sung-min) The unique idea of YU students is drawing attention as it gave birth to a new profession. It is a new job called ‘Fashion Reminder’ and it was proposed by Part Studio, a start-up club comprised of Yoo Gwang-jin (25, senior) and Kang Ryang-gwan of the YU Department of Psychology (23, junior), and Park Sung-min (23, junior), Seo Gi-tae (22, sophomore), and Jung Gyeong-min (21, freshman) of the Department of Clothing and Fashion. They explain that Fashion Reminder is a profession of creating new value by recycling clothes filled with memories. Some examples are recycling middle or high school uniforms to make diary book covers or using college varsity jackets to make briefcases or laptop pouches so that professionals can recycle their items and remember their memories from school, or also recycling maternity dresses into children’s clothes so that mothers can share memories with their children. It goes beyond simply recycling clothes no longer worn, but adding the value of memories to fashion design. Fashion Reminder won the gold medal at the ‘2018 National Youth Employment Academy Project Job Creation Awards’ opened last month. Yoo Gwang-jin explained, “We made samples such as taking a maternity address that was worn by a mother when she was pregnant to make a new children’s clothes, and we also put together a brochure. I think ‘Fashion Reminder’ received good evaluations as it went beyond being simply ideas, but also visibly showed possibilities as a new profession.” Their idea was the result of the ‘Youth Employment Academy (Job Creation Course) YU_Golden Lane Project’ operated by the YU LINC+ Project Team’s Start-up Education Center. This project fosters young start-up entrepreneurs by providing support for start-up items and employment/startups. While engaging in job creation activities, Partz Studio also launched their own fashion design brand ‘Partz Studio’ to design and sell their clothes. The YU LINC+ Project Team Start-up Education Center is planning to pursue the ‘2019 Youth Employment Academy (Job Creation Course) Youth Employment Academy’ from April.
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All students pass written and practice test Only university in region to record 100% passing rate for second straight year last year (82nd) 100% passing rate in 78th and 80th national qualification exam [January 25, 2019] YU (President Sur Gil-soo) achieved its ‘100% passing rate’ goal with all of the YU applicants for the 2019 83rd National Doctors Qualification Exam passing the exam. It recorded ‘100% passing rate’ for the second straight year. It is the only university in the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions to achieve 100% passing rate for the second straight year. All of the YU test-takers for the 78th and 80th national qualification exam passed as well setting another record and reconfirming the excellence of the YU Medical School. All 73 graduates of the National Doctors Qualification Exam held on the 10th and 11th passed the exam. This year, 3,115 out of 3,307 test-takers passed, showing a passing rate of 94.2%. YU College of Medicine Dean Kim Jong-yeon said, “This was the result of high levels of education that lead global universities and by making efforts to provide high quality faculty that was ranked fourth in the world by a prominent international academic journal, as well as an atmosphere for pursuing academic knowledge.” He added, “Based on a spirit of patriotism, which is the mission of the YU College of Medicine, we will take the lead in fostering wholistic human resources that will contribute to the improvement of health for humanity and in medical development.” The YU College of Medicine was the first in the region to receive a ‘6 year accreditation’ in the ‘medical education accreditation’ by the Korean Institute of Medical Education and Evaluation (hereinafter called KIMEE) in 2014. KIMEE accredits 40 domestic medical education institutes by evaluating nine fields including education, students, professions, college operation system, and continued improvements to give four or six year accreditation.
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Department of English and English Literature Lee Jae-un Selected for UNV... To be Dispatched to Sri Lanka for Six Months from February Broadened horizons by going overseas as an exchange student and Korean college student representative to the UN Planning to enroll at a foreign graduate school to enhance expertise in international development [January 25, 2019] Lee Jae-eun (23), a senior at the YU Department of English and English Literature, was selected for the UNV (United Nations Volunteers) of the UNDP (United Nations Development Programme). Miss Lee will work at a local international organization in Sri Lanka for six months from February to August. The international organization will fund all her expenses during her stay. Lee was selected as the only person from Korea to be dispatched as a UNV to the UNDP PBF team. Lee was finally selected after a video interview with a local UNDP employee in Sri Lanka. UNV is an international organization under the UNDP established with the resolution of the UN General Assembly in December 1970. With the goal to contribute to global sustainable development and maintaining peace, it dispatches volunteers to local offices of the international organization to engage in development support and humanitarian relief projects. Miss Lee will participate in international cooperation projects being carried out by the UN for better quality of life and will be in charge of PR using social media platforms to share the importance of volunteering. Lee has been gaining experience from long ago with the goal of stepping into the international stage. She went to Northumbria University in England for one year from September 2016 as an exchange student and last summer, she was selected as the World Federation of United Nations Associations ‘UN Korean College Student Representatives’ and went to the New York Headquarters of the UN to interact with current employees for a week. Miss Lee said, “My horizons were broadened through my experience as an exchange student for a year and at the UN New York Headquarters. In particular, by making presentations on SDGs (sustainable development goals) at the UN New York Headquarters and sharing opinions with UN experts, I saw the lives of people dedicated to living to contribute to the global community, and I also wanted to participate in the works of the UN.” Miss Lee, who is part of the 14th YU International Ambassadors, said, “My experience as an international ambassador for 1 year allowed me to help exchange students and participate in various official international events, and this helped me upgrade my global capacities. Participating in various internationalization programs pursued by the university helped me gain experience to join an international organization.” Lee said, “I believe that by working at the UN for six months I will have the priceless experience of being able to work on site to think about the fundamental issues of human rights issues, necessary policies, and the direction and solutions that should be sought after from a pan-global perspective.” She also added, “I am planning to enroll at a foreign graduate school after graduating in August of 2019. I plan to study psychology or international development at graduate school to enhance my expertise.”
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After graduating from the College of Pharmacy and working as a pharmacist for one year, passed second in his class after joining the Judicial Research & Training Institute after 2 years His thirst for dialog and debates propelled him to prepare to become a judicial officer Experience as a pharmacist to help him gain expertise in law firms for medicine and medical instrument sectors [January 23, 2019] At the 48th Judicial Research & Training Institute’s graduate ceremony held on the 14th, Lee Jae-ha (30), who graduated from YU, received the Minister of Justice Award by graduating second in his class. He will begin working as an attorney at Korea’s top law firm, Kim & Chang. Mr. Lee, who graduated from the YU College of Pharmacy in February of 2011, was formerly a pharmacist. He worked as a pharmacist in Gimhae, Gyeongnam for about one year from February 2013. In March 2014, he quit his job and began studying and he completed the law school credits on his own. Finally, in 2016, he passed the 58th bar exam coming in second place. Mr. Lee, who could have lived a comfortable life as a pharmacist, decided to go take the bar exam because of his thirst for dialog and debates. He said, “I had a thirst for dialog and debate and I regretted not living harder back in school. I decided that I had to challenge something before I lost my passion.” He added, “It was tough preparing for the bar exam, but while studying law, I learned about cases that wisely resolved various problems in society and established a standard for judging what is right and what is right. I started to find joy in that I was becoming a better person every day.” We had to wonder his secret to studying as he now had acquired not just one, but two professional licenses that are difficult to obtain. He said, “I think efficiency is the most important thing in studying. You have to make the frame focusing on the most important parts and repeatedly review them, and once you feel that you have your frame, you should study the details. Preparations for the test are very important as well. I practiced the entire process of the test and I made algorithms on how to behave for each stage of the test. I also uploaded a video on my study tips related to the Judicial Research & Training Institute on YouTube last year, so it may be helpful for people preparing for record-type legal tests.” He also said that he too had fears about not passing. This is because the bar exam was scheduled to be abolished in 2017 and there were not many opportunities to take the test. Lee explained, “I am sure that people preparing for tests or employment even at this moment have concerns about failing. Some may fail, but you should think that the process itself will upgrade you.” He went on, “However, you should not be afraid of accurately identifying your aptitudes and interests to supplement and revise your directions.” We also wanted to know about his plans for the future as a pharmacist-slash-attorney. Mr. Lee said, “I believe that my experience as a pharmacist, though short, will help me work on areas such as intellectual property rights and regulations at the law firm. I am especially interested in TMT (technology, media and telecom) fields related to pharmaceuticals, medical instruments and the fourth industrial revolution. I hope to work in specialized fields at the law firm, find my area of interest and gain expertise.”
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Improving global capacities through overseas volunteer services, overseas internships, and backpacking during winter break Over 430 students to be sent abroad for on-site learning linked with majors, exploring overseas companies, etc. Full support from the university to enhance global experience opportunities [January 14, 2019] <36th Overseas Volunteer Corps Launching Ceremony> YU students will enhance their global capacities to kick off 2019. Students will be sent around the world through the overseas dispatch programs supported by YU during winter break. Over 430 students will go abroad during the winter break. The ‘Overseas Volunteer Corps’ is one of the most famous overseas dispatch programs of YU. Over 2,630 students participated in this program over 35 sessions in since 2001. This winter break, the 36th Overseas Volunteer Corps made up of 58 volunteers will go to Laos, Vietnam and Indonesia to engage in volunteer activities. They held a launching ceremony at the YU College of Education auditorium at 3 p.m. on the 10th and will go to one of the three countries in January for two weeks. These volunteers will go to local elementary schools to help with education in arts, physical education and culture, while also volunteering in environmental improvement activities. In particular, the volunteers will teach students Korean language and traditional Korean games in order to spread Korean culture. The most popular program among students from the overseas dispatch programs supported by YU is ‘Window To the World’. ‘Window To the World’ is popular as a backpacking program where students make teams and set their themes and go abroad. The selected students are given round-trip airfares by the university. This began in 2002 and over 2,640 students traveled to different parts of the world. This winter break, 139 students made teams of twos and threes to go backpacking to different parts of the world including Europe, Australia and China. In particular, focus education on foreign languages including English and Chinese will be provided to students going abroad for Window To the World from this year in order to maximize short-term overseas training effects. <YU Volunteer Corps on site> ‘OPP’ (Outbound Pilot Program) is another overseas dispatch program proudly funded by YU. This is a prior short-term language education program for students who are interested in studying abroad or participating as an exchange student at an overseas sister school. 1,730 people participate in the OPP since it was first offered in 2009. This winter break, 88 students will be sent to the Philippines for four weeks through the OPP. In addition, over 150 students will go to the United States, England, Australia, Vietnam, Japan, Taiwan and Mongolia through overseas internships, exploring overseas companies, technical exchange with foreign universities, short-term language programs, and overseas start-up network programs. Thus, a total of over 430 YU students will go to different parts of the world this winter break. YU President Sur Gil-soo said, “I hope that students use this winter break as an opportunity to upgrade their global mindsets. YU will continue to expand support so that more students can participate in the global experience opportunities.”
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Graduate school students of the Organic Materials Synthesis Lab recognized internationally for research achievements Selected as VIP paper, cover paper, and also the Korean Society of Organic Synthesis paper award High application potentials using synthetic new materials for developing sun cream, fluorescent sensors, pharmaceutical products, etc. [December 27, 2018] <YU School of Chemical Engineering Organic Materials Synthesis Lab researchers> (from top left: Thombal Raju Sitaram, Khanal Hari Datta, Mishra Kanchan from bottom left: Shrestha Rajeev, Professor Lee Yong-rok, Maezono Shizuka Mei) Graduate school students of the YU School of Chemical Engineering Organic Materials Synthesis Lab (Advisor Lee Yong-rok) made news by publishing eight papers over the past six months one after the other in prominent international journals (impact factor=5 or higher, within top 10%). Some were selected as VIP papers and cover papers for the corresponding journals, while another won the excellent poster award for the Korean Society of Organic Synthesis, thus being recognized research experience. Adviser Lee Yong-rok (59) is a prominent figure in the organic synthesis sector. Great minds from India, Nepal, Philippines, China and Pakistan are currently studying at Professor Lee’s research lab. The graduate school students who received guidance by Professor Lee are developing new organic reactions and are engaged in research for developing pharmaceutical products and electronic materials by synthesizing new materials through the developed reactions. Starting with Thombal Raju Sitaram (28, PhD course) from India publishing his research results on ‘New Type of Physiological Active Substance Pyrazole Derivative Synthesis’ in the US chemical journal, ‘Organic Letters’ (Impact factor= 6.492, top 3.51%) in July, Tej Narayan Poudel (37, PhD earned in February 2016) published a paper titled ‘OLED development carbazole derivative synthesis’ and Shrestha Rajeev (29, currently in combined master’s and PhD course) published the research results of ‘Fluorescent Sensor Development New Xanthone Derivative Synthesis’ in Organic Letters. Recently, Maezono Shizuka Mei (27) from the Philippines currently in the combined master’s and PhD program published the research results on the ‘Development of a New Synthesis Method for Aromatic Pyridine Rings with Various Function Groups’ and Gamma-Pyrone Synthesis of Various Types Using Indium Catalysts’ in the British chemical journal ‘Organic Chemistry Frontiers’ (IF= 5.455, top 7.02%). In particular, the new material gamma-pyrone researched by Miss Maezono exhibited stronger sun cream effects compared to materials used in the past and therefore, it was recognized for the research excellence, thus being selected as the cover paper of the journal (photo of cover on the right). Two papers were also published in the SCI academic journal ‘Advanced Synthesis & Catalysis’(IF= 5.123, top 2.82%) published by the world-acclaimed publisher Wiley. The research on ‘Alpha-halogenation Reaction Using Diazo Compounds’ performed by Khanal Hari Datta (38, PhD earned in August 2017) and the research results on ‘4-Pyrone Synthesis Using Diazo Compounds’ conducted by Park Ga-eul (24, earned master’s in February 2018) were published. The paper by Dr. Khanal Hari Datta was selected as the VIP (Very Important Paper) and cover paper (photo of cover on left) in the respective journal. Also, the research results of ‘Process for Manufacturing Various Types of Amine through Development of New Metal Catalysts’ performed by Mishra Kanchan (38, PhD earned in February 2018) was published in the online version of ChemSusChem, IF= 7.411, top 6.06%). Their advisor, Professor Lee Yong-rok said, “The new materials published through research exhibited high strength against UV blocking, fluorescents, anti-oxidizing, and anti-bacteria, and so it has utilization value for sun cream, fluorescent sensors, and pharmaceutical products.” Meanwhile, this research was conducted as part of the Ministry of Education’s BK21 Plus project, College Hub Research Center Support Project, the National Research Foundation’s Platform Technology Development Project and Middle-grade Researcher Support Project.
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Hosted ‘YU Future League’… Prompt interest in employment among younger students, while strengthening competence Enhancing capacities of students through the college job center and customized employment programs Setting career paths in advance and showing interest in employment also important [January 4, 2019] <‘YU Future League’ Employment Camp (Gyeongju Hanwha Resort)> YU (President Sur Gil-soo) has stepped up to strengthen employment capacities of students early on. Younger students are also encouraged to explore career paths and participate in work education programs. This aims at enhancing the interest level of students for employment and to improve employment competitiveness. The YU College Job Center (Director Lee Seung-woo), together with the consulting institute Expert Consulting, held the employment camp ‘YU Future League’. Many students attended despite the fact it was being held during winter break. A total of 90 people participated in the tree sessions held from December 26 to January 3. Education was offered for one night and two days for 30 students for each session. Unlike recent employment camps being held for juniors and seniors, this program included freshmen and sophomores. YU School of Chemical Engineering freshman Song Byung-jae (19) who participated in the second camp said, “I participated in the program at the recommendation of an upperclassman in my club. I am not yet too interested in employment so I am not very keen about the company names and contents, but it was an opportunity for me to become more interested in employment and career development.” Despite the busy schedule from early in the morning to late at night, students exhibited high levels of concentration with no signs of tiring. It mirrors the fiery passion of students to pass the difficult gateway to employment. There were a barrage of questions asked as well. The questions were on detailed procedures for specific positions such as HR and marketing, as well as questions on work aptitude tests of different companies, internships, and acquiring certifications. Department of Family and Housing Studies sophomore Sohn Yu-gyeong (20) said, “I applied for the camp because I will have to become more interested in employment once I become a junior. This is the first employment program that I am participating in offered by the school, and I am very satisfied as the contents were well arranged and the program was highly systemized. I hope to participate in another program later as well.” This employment camp included basic information for exploring employment information such as employment trends, hiring processes, hiring ad analysis, etc. As well as corporate and job analysis, and work contents and preparations for the fields of application. In particular, management simulation for experiencing different jobs by designing and producing bridges, as well as group projects of completing team missions using drones enhanced the immersion level of students on the second day of the sessions. Participating students said, “The session offered basic employment information to teamwork programs to build actual work analysis, collaboration and creativity, thus being helpful for preparing for employment with the short, yet full programs. The YU College Job Center Director Lee Seung-woo said, “It is very important for students to set the career goals early on and become interested in employment.” The university is operating various employment support programs to help students explore careers and duties fitting them and to actively prepare for employment. We hope that students will actively participate in employment programs offered by the school to improve their competitiveness.“ The YU College Job Center is operating customized employment empowerment programs from younger students to seniors who are scheduled to graduate. This winter break also offers not only the ‘YU Future League’, but also focus education on conglomerate aptitude tests, focus education for public institute NCS (national competence standards), employment camps for foreign companeis, and other customized education for employment demands, as well as work empowerment education such as financial and production quality expert fostering courses and work clubs, etc.
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‘Rural home fixing’ activities held every summer vacation since 2012 Nine persons receive citations from the government and local authorities including the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Medal [January 2, 2019] <YU School of Architecture students who have been donating their talents for the seventh straight year> The ‘talent donation’ volunteer activities of students of the YU School of Architecture that has been ongoing for seven years became known. Students received citations and awards from the government and local authorities for their volunteer services. They were recognized for their efforts to improve vulnerable resident environments such as rural areas by utilizing their specialties learned from their majors in architecture. The Dasom House Welfare Foundation and the Korea Institute of Rural Architecture has been engaged in college student volunteer activities called ‘Fixing Rural Homes’ since 2008. The YU School of Architecture also started in 2012 at Uiseong-gun, followed by Ulleung-gun in 2013, Yeongyang-gun in 2014, Yeongju-I in 2015, Goesan-gun in 2016, and Muju-gun in 2017, and this year, they are offering their services in Gyeongsan-si of Gyeongbuk for the seventh year. Every summer break, students stay at rural villages from a week to about two weeks as they work hard to renovate old homes for persons with poorly maintained homes. Last summer, volunteer activities were offered for six homes in Sinweol-ri in Apnyang-myeon, Gyeongsan-si, Gyeongbuk. Professor Do Hyeon-hak and 20 students from the YU School of Architecture participated. The students visited each of the homes that would be renovated in advance for inspection, and they met with the village foreman and residents to listen to their opinions to make repair plans. The students drew the blueprints of the homes they would repair and come up with actual construction plans to begin their volunteer activities. They manually removed and repaired old parts, painted, performed pipework and tiling of the homes, while also upgrading old bathrooms into modern bathrooms, as well as other tasks requiring professional skills. They used what they learned in school, while also referring to the internet and professional books to complete the job. Kim Joon-gi (25), a fifth-year student at the School of Architecture who headed the volunteers, said, “This is my fourth year taking part in volunteer activities. Volunteering is very fulfilling, but also, it is also advantageous in that I can use what I learned from my major and gain on-site experience.” He added, “Volunteer activities have been ongoing for the seventh year, and so it naturally became an annual event for our school.” Yoon Mi-gyeong (24, 5th year student), who participated in the volunteer activities for the first time, “I was unable to participate in the volunteer activities before because I always had other schedules to tend to. I regret not being able to participate in the volunteer activities earlier. I hope that my juniors at school will actively take part in this.” Kim Young-il (25, fourth year student) said, “It was tough because we had to stay up all night and work towards the end of the volunteer activity schedule, but I felt a sense of pride after seeing the elders like their newly repaired homes and being thanked by them. I have some regret because I think we could have done a better job. I have now gained experience so next year I hope to participate as a team leader to engage in the volunteer activities with my juniors.” Meanwhile, at the 2018 Rural Home Fixing volunteer activities performance report held in November of last year, nine YU students in the School of Architecture received citations.Kim Joon-gi received the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs medal, Kim Young-il and Kim Ji-ho received the Governor of Gyeongsangbuk-do medal, Lee Seok-min and Kim Ji-yoon received the Korea Rural Community Corporation President’s Medal, Park Soo-cheol and Woo A-rah received the Chairman of the Korea Institute of Rural Architecture medal, and Yoon Mi-gyeong and Park Ha-eon received the President of the Dasom House Welfare Foundation medal.
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YU Gyeongbuk Big Data Center Leads ‘Data-based Local Pending Issues’ Signed work MOUs with four big data centers designated by the Ministry of Science and ICT [December 21, 2018] <Four big data centers in the Daegu-Gyeongbuk region such as the YU Gyeongbuk Big Data Center teamed up to solve pending local issues based on data> <?xml:namespace prefix = "o" /> The YU Industry-Academic Cooperation Team Gyeongbuk Big Data Center (Center Director Park Chang-hyeon) signed an MOU with the big data center located in the Daegu-Gyeongbuk regions at the head office of the Gimcheon Korea Transportation Safety Authority on the 20th. This MOU was joined by four institutes in the Daegu-Gyeongbuk region designated as big data centers by the MInistry of Science and ICT in May ((1) YU Gyeongbuk Big Data Center (Gyeongsangbuk-do Big Data Center), (2) Daegu Digital Industry Promotion Center Big Data Center (Daegu Metropolitan Big Data Center), (3) Korea Transportation Safety Authority Traffic Big Data Center, (4) Daegu Gyeongbuk Research Institute Spatial Big Data Center). The main contents of this MOU are the ▲ joint excavation of national policy projects for big data in the Daegu-Gyeongbuk regions ▲ information exchange, education and technical support for big data ▲ providing support systems for fostering big data personnel, ▲ sharing data possessed by institutes and joint research, etc.. The four institutes that signed this MOU agreed to utilize the infrastructure, data, and professionals possessed by each institute to solve local pending issues based on data. Furthermore, they will also jointly participate in big data projects being pursued by the government or local authorities to create a leading model for the development of big data in the Daegu-Gyeongbuk region. Gyeongsangbuk-do and the Gyeongbuk Big Data Center were designated as big data centers by the Ministry of Science and ICT and it is engaged in various policy projects for promoting regional big data by analyzing regional big data status analysis, establishing mid- to long-term development strategies, and also establishing incubating plans for big data companies and human resources. The Gyeongbuk Big Data Center is carrying out the ‘Small and Medium Business Big Data Utilization Support Project’ supported by the Ministry of Science and ICT and the National Information Agency (NIA) for improving the competence of local big data solution companies and companies that use big data as the supervising institute of the Gyeongbuk IT Convergence Industry Technology Institute and the Gyeongbuk Technopark consortium. It supported the use of big data by selecting 20 small and medium-sized company possessing proprietary data such as big data solution companies and for process, CRM and marketing for companies that use big data, while selecting five outstanding cases. Meanwhile, the Gyeongbuk Big Data Center is planning to spend 200 million won in provincial funding by Gyeongbuk to select 10-20 local small and medium businesses in 2019 to provide support so that they may use big data. It is also planning to put aside 100 million won to support big data education for relevant employees in Gyeongbuk, college students and graduates, and students at specialized high schools.
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President Sur Gil-soo visits the Chengdu University in China to induce international students to pursue multiple degrees in the Republic of Korea. President Sur Gil-soo, one of invited speakers at the International Presidential Forum, gives a talk at the forum in an effort to extend its international exchange partnership [Dec-14-2018] <President Sur Gil-soo speaking at the International Presidential Forum> “To think of the time to see you as students of YU in a couple of years, I am thrilled even now with the feeling this moment is so precious! Though a short meeting with you, I wish you to cherish this moment as a precious memory together with me until we meet again at YU and let us make our dream come true then! See you again(再见)!” YU President Sur Gil-soo stood at the platform of International Education College, Chengdu University in China on the seventh to personally explain merits of YU to students of Architecture & Civil Engineering College which is under the joint operation of both universities. About 100 students of Chengdu University, filled the classroom, introduced themselves in Korean though poor, and earnestly asked the president several questions. They stayed in the classroom even quite some time after the buzz to end the class. The special lecture by President Sur couldn’t stop actually until after the buzz to start the following class. The students had to keep their enthusiasm and expectations in their memorial photos. <A Memorial Photo of New Students of Architecture & Civil Engineering College, Chengdu University> YU President Sur Gil-soo visited Chengdu University, located in Chengdu, the capital city of Sutuan Province, China, three nights four days the sixth to ninth day of December, this year as YU President Sur Gil-soo was invited as a speaker at the International Presidential Forum, hosted by Chengdu University, established in 1978, to celebrate its fortieth anniversary. YU President Sur Gil-soo took this opportunity to meet with the president, professors and students of Chengdu University and personally highlight the international student exchange program of YU in addition to his speech. President Sur actually advertised the exchange program to the students so that they can come to study at YU. Especially, the goal of his visit was to glean an actual achievement of the Joint Collaboration for Abroad Study which has been in operation by YU and Chengdu University since September 2016. The Joint Collaboration for Abroad Study is a core education policy of Chinese government in an effort to make Chinese education advanced and internationalized. This education program is promoted jointly by Chinese and foreign education institutes to educate Chinese students abroad. This preprogram is approved by the Education Department of China and continually supervised by the department. YU received approval of the Education Department of China on ‘Architecture & Civil Engineering College’ to be jointly operated by Chengdu and YU in September 2015. 60 new students joined this college for the first time in September 2016. As of December 2018, a total of 150 students are studying at this college under the education collaboration program. They will join YU so as to further their studies two more years after studying their majors and Korean language three years at the college. They can earn two degrees, one from Chengdu University and the other from YU. Thus, YU is expected to produce its first fruit of this program in September 2019. President Sur had a successful meeting with President Wang Qing Yuan of Chengdu University to extend the education collaboration program, thereby jointly operating the Korean Language Institute and promoting Chinese students, graduating from Chengdu University, to further their studies at YU. President Wang Qing Yuan agreed to a positive support for various suggestions of YU President Sur Gil-soo. He was recommended to serve as a member of the Chengdu University Improvement Policy Committee. All these efforts consolidated their trust and collaboration. <President Sur Gil-soo (left) and President Wang Qing Yuan (right) Standing in front of the information board of Chinese Abroad Education Collaboration in the campus of Chengdu University> The visit of President Sur was an opportunity to extend international exchanges with about 20 universities of 18 countries. This fortieth anniversary of Chengdu University and the international presidential forum provided a place of meeting with presidents of universities abroad. Especially, the speech of President Sur on the contribution of the regional base of the university to the society drew lots of attention and interest from universities. As result, many universities offered exchange collaborations. The speech of President Sur was known to be carried as an article of the Newspaper of Chengdu University, which will surely advertise YU more. He invited Doctor Erwin Neher, an awardee of Nobel Prize in the field of Medicine, who was invited to the anniversary of Chengdu University. Furthermore, YU has been operating ‘2+2 Food Engineering College’ since 2017 collaborating with Tonghua Education University in China. Currently 42 students, having completed two years course, will join YU to further their studies. Hence, the number of students, who will join YU to further their studies under the Chinese Abroad Education Collaboration program, will reach 100 in September 2019.. YU President Sur Gil-soo highlighted the international student inducing program, saying “exports of excellent education courses abroad not only raise the international reputation of the university but achieve two ends because they induce more excellent students as well,” and added “I will step up my effort to induce international students more positively.”
