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Over 430 sent abroad for overseas volunteer corps, overseas internships and backpacking Various programs such as foreign culture exploration, exchange of majors, industry-academic cooperation [June 30, 2016] <31st overseas volunteer corps launching ceremony> “ “Can't waste summer break! We will come back after gaining various experiences overseas!” YU students will travel around the world during summer vacation. YU students are planning to spend their summer vacation busily. YU operates various overseas dispatch programs every year during vacation seasons to improve the students' global capacities. This summer break, over 430 students will step foot all around the world. Since 2001, over 2,340 students over 30 sessions participated in the 'overseas volunteer corps', which is one of YU's representative overseas dispatch programs. This summer break, 60 students of the 31st overseas volunteer corps will go to Laos, Philippines and India to engage in volunteer activities. They held the launching ceremony at the YU College of Education auditorium at 3 p.m. on the 29th. The India and Philippines teams will leave on July 2 and the Laos team will leave on the 4th and participate in volunteer activities for two weeks. The volunteers will visit local elementary schools and help with education and improving the environment. During the volunteer period, they will not only help improve the educational environment by repairing old facilities and painting the walls of elementary schools, but also make up several education teams including arts and physical education and offer soap-making, jump rope, and kickball classes. They will also provide Korean language courses to help spread the Korean culture. Shin Min-joon (25, Department of Political Science & Diplomacy, senior), who is the captain of the Philippines team for the 31st overseas volunteer corps, said, "I was always interested in volunteering and I have experience participating in UNICEF charity drives and mentoring programs for local elementary school students. But this is my first time participating in overseas volunteer activities so I am very excited." He added, "I will be graduating after one more semester so I want to make many fun memories and I hope to improve the reputation of Korea and our school as well." One of the most popular programs for students among the overseas dispatch programs offered by YU is 'Window to the World'. 'Window to the World' is a backpacking program to go on a trek for a theme related to school and the competition rate is very high at 3 to 1. Selected students are provided with round-trip air fare and more. This program was offered since 2002 and helped over 2,100 students travel the world. This summer break, 107 students will be grouped in teams of twos and threes and go backpacking around the world including Europe, USA, Australia, Japan and China. 'OPP' (Outbound Pilot Program) is another overseas dispatch program that is the pride of YU. This is a short-term pre-study abroad program for students who are interested in studying abroad or planning to go to a sister school as an exchange student. OPP began in 2009 and was joined by over 1,480 students. This summer break, 53 students will be sent to the Philippines for four weeks through the OPP. Over 20 students will be sent to the US this summer break for the overseas internship program in which students will work abroad in foreign companies for six months to one year. The overseas internship program is tied with school credits so participating students will be able to travel abroad, gain work experience, and acquire school credits, thus killing three birds with one stone. Also, 190 plus students will be sent abroad for the start-up education training at Donghua University in Shanghai, China, global industry-academic cooperation, overseas cultural exploration, short-term overseas internships, and language training programs, raising the number of YU students traveling abroad to over 430.
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Regional volunteer activities every summer break since 2002 15th volunteer corps work hard in Daegu and Gyeongsan under leadership of YU Visits to senior homes, street 'gum painting campaign' [July 1, 2016] [YTN News] College students of the Yeongnam and Honam regions united to engage in volunteer activities during the summer vacation. Four universities including YU, Dong-A University, Chosun University, and Wonkwang University united to engage in volunteer activities. The Sharing and Volunteer Corps of the four universities in the Yeongnam-Honam regions is an exchange program to take the lead in inter-collegiate cooperation and regional harmony. Starting with the first volunteer corps in 2002, it is now in the 15th year. The 'Dalbit Alliance' (name made by combining the first syllables from the word 'Dalgubeol', which is the old name of Daegu, and 'Bitgoeul, which is the Korean word for Gwangju) that was made for the co-development and exchange and cooperation of Yeongnam and Honam by Daegu and Gwangju is a Yeongnam-Honam harmony program with a long tradition. <Sharing and Volunteer Corps of 4 universities in the Yeongnam-Honam regions volunteering at a senior home> Every year, the volunteer corps are overseen by a university in Yeongnam and Honam by turns and students from four universities join forces during the summer break for volunteer activities. This year, the 15th volunteer corps comprised of a total of 20 students with five from each college will engage in volunteer activities in Daegu and Gyeongsan for one week from the June 26 to July 2 under the supervision of YU. The 15th volunteer corps volunteer at the Ebenezer Silver Town, which is a senior home facility located in Gyeongsan. They will help clean up and provide services such as cleaning, laundry and helping with meals, and also donate their talents such as singing and dancing for the elderly. This year, they will also take part in street environment improvement activities for the community. The volunteers will take part in the 'Gum Painting Campaign' at Daegu metro line 2 Yeungnam University Station and the YU Gyeongsan campus. The 'Gum Painting Campaign' is for using acrylic paint to make beautiful paintings and messages on streets where there are gum stains. This program aims at improving the street environment and also reminding people not to spit their gums on the street. Kim Tae-hoon (24), a junior at the YU Department of Students who participated as the captain of the 15th volunteer corps, said, "I wanted to do something fulfilling during the summer break. The volunteer corps of the four universities in the Yeongnam and Honam regions seemed to be fulfilling. I may be lacking in many areas because I have not volunteered very much, but I think that the process is more important than results for volunteering." He added, "The Sharing and Volunteer Corps of the four universities Yeongnam and Honam will volunteer next year in Honam, and if I am given the opportunity, I would like to participate again next year." Meanwhile, students participating in the volunteer activities will be given one credit in social service, and also be given a certificate for volunteering by the university president.
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QS-Chosun Ilbo rankings, rose 22 ranks in past 4 years Rising through internationalization such as ratio of foreign faculty and number of exchange students Good evaluations in faculty research abilities such as evaluations by academia [June 14, 2016] YU (President Noh Seok-kyun) has continued its climb by rising in the '2016 Asian University Rankings' by seven places compared to the previous year. According to the 'QS-Chosun Ilbo 2016 Asian University Rankings' that were announced on the 14th, YU continued its rise and was ranked 128th overall among universities in Asia (22nd in Korea). While the major universities of Korea fell or stayed stagnant, YU has recorded strong growth for the past four years. In 2013, it was ranked 150th, and thus, it climbed up 22 ranks this year at 128th. YU showed especially strong growth in the internationalization index. The foreign student ratio rose from 188th last year to 145th this year, and the number of exchange students (36th -> 32nd) sent abroad also recorded steady growth, thus leading Korean universities in terms of internationalization. This is the result of systematically operating various mid- to long-term overseas study programs popular among students such as the GSP (Global Study Program), overseas internships, and exchange student programs. Furthermore, 172 of the 900 faculty members are foreign faculty, thus amounting to close to 20%, and thereby displaying the internationalization of YU in terms of foreigner faculty. In addition, academia evaluation was ranked at 121st (15th in Korea), showing excellent assessments for the faculty's research capacities. YU President Noh Seok-kyun said, "It is very encouraging to continuously receive good evaluations by an authoritative college evaluation institute. This means that the status of our university was objectively judged to have been raised worldwide." He added, "This is the result of not sparing any support for education and research sectors with a long-term perspective despite the difficulty college environment." The 'QS-Chosun Ilbo Asian University Rankings' began in 2009 and is in its 8th year this year. This year, it judged 517 universities in 17 countries including Korea, Japan, China, Singapore and Hong Kong (categorized separately from China).
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Professor Moon Yong-sun, 'Best Poster Paper Award' by the Korean Society for Plant Biotechnology Investigated important substances with physiological effect of traditional oriental herbal medicines, expected to be used for treating rheumatism Lee Sang-eun in junior year recognized for potential as specialist in horticultural industry and received the 'Horticulture Evergreen Award' by the Korean Society for Horticultural Sciences [June 16, 2016] The YU Department of Horticulture and Life Science enjoyed consecutive awards in major academic societies since professors and students were recognized for their research capacities. First, Department of Horticulture and Life Science Professor Moon Yong-sun (45, left on photo) received the 'best poster paper award' at the 2016 Korean Society for Plant Biotechnology academic conference. At this conference, which was held at the Dong-A University Bumin Campus International Hall from the 9th to 11th, Professor Moon presented her research results on the effects of serotonin, which was recently found to be a major active ingredient of carthami fructus (safflower seed), which is a species of the safflower. Carthami fructus is reported to be effective in treating fractured bones and rheumatism, and the flowers of safflowers have been reported to help with stroke and high blood pressure. Through this study, Professor Moon confirmed that the seratonin of carthami fructus is an active ingredient with anti-oxidizing effects and that it is effective in treating inflammations. Professor Moon said, "Depending on which part of a plant you consume, the physiological effects for the same substance can be different. The major substances of carthami fructus, which is an oriental herbal medicine ingredient that has been used for treating fractures and rheumatism, were revealed through this study, and it will be possible to use it as a natural ingredient for treating rheumatism related diseases." She added, "In addition to revealing the major substances of traditional medicinal crops of Korea and investing its physiological effects, I am planning to also conduct research on the possibility as vegetable crops by establishing the cultivation conditions of medicinal crops." Professor Moon earned her doctorates at Cornell University in 2003 and was appointed as a professor at the YU Department of Horticulture and Life Science. She also served as the deputy director of the YU Planning Office and the director of the Women Student Career Development Center. She currently holds important positions such as the dean of the Department of Horticulture and Life Science, director of the Rural Development Research Center, and director of the International Cooperation Support Team. In May, she also won the '2016 Best Lecturer Award'. Also on May 27, Lee Sang-eun (23, right on photo), a junior in the Department of Horticulture and Life Science, received the 'Horticulture Evergreen Award' from the Korean Society for Horticultural Sciences. The Korean Society for Horticultural Sciences is the nation's largest academic society on agriculture with 2,000 members. From last year, it began giving the 'Horticulture Evergreen Award' by selecting undergraduate students who made their presence known in the horticulture sector. Mr. Lee said, "Horticulture is an academic field that is closely related to the health of humanity and for the procurement of food resources for the future." He added, "I am very interested in plant genetics and breeding. I want to contribute in the Korean seed industry."
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Graduated from Department of Special Physical Education, general paralysis due to accident while in school Graduated in 2014 after 11 years since enrolling, passed state examination for special education teacher in February "I want to become a teacher who can feel what disabled students feel and give them hope and courage" [June 12, 2016] [Source: YTN Ho Joon-seok's News People] "I was a healthy young man of Korea even after getting out of the army. But after becoming disabled because of an accident, I truly felt the hardships that disabled people have. I want to become a teacher who can feel what disabled students feel, and give them hope and courage." Shin Geun-seob (32) passed the state examination in February of this year and has started off on his path as a special education teacher. Mr. Shin has just began his dream as a teacher at Daegu Sungbo School of Special Education, which is the nation's first public educational institute for students with physical disabilities. Mr. Shin enrolled at the YU Department of Special Physical Education in 2003 with dreams to become a special education teacher. In 2008, as he prepared to return to school in his junior year, he got into a car accident and was paralyzed from the shoulder down and had to stay in the hospital for four years. After repeating a cycle of returning to school and taking leaves from school because of his injury, he finally graduated in February of 2014, 11 years after enrolling. And two years since graduating, he made his dream come true. Because of his sudden disability, he gave up on his dream of becoming a teacher and only returned to school to communicate with the outside world. In the spring of 2013 when he was a senior, he went on a student-teacher program at the Daegu Sungbo School of Special Education and experienced another turning point in his life. "I attended school with the dream of becoming a special education teacher who could give dreams and courage to the disabled, but when I became disabled, all I felt was despair. But while teaching and mixing in together with the disabled students during my student-teacher program, I learned and felt many things. A senior who helped me told me that I could feel a common ground better than other teachers and that I taught them well, and that I should really become a special education teacher. What he said led me to come this far." He is a new teacher who has worked for just three months and made his dream come true. But he said that in reality, there were many difficulties. Mr. Shin said, "I believed that I had to invest more time than any other test-taker while studying for the state examination for becoming a teacher, and I worked really hard." He added, "I have to spend a lot of time and prepare for classes even now after becoming a teacher so that I can teach the students as much as possible. There are still some difficulties when I have to show them examples or show them something physically. I spend a lot of time thinking about what I need to do to help students understand better." Mr. Shin visited YU on a warm sunny day on the 10th. He came to visit his professors and juniors. Mr. Shin said that he would not have been able to achieve his dream if it was not for the professors who acted as his mentor and his school mates who contributed a lot to help him. The person who was most heartbroken by news of Mr. Shin's accident was Department of Special Physical Education Professor Park Gi-yong (63). Professor Park volunteered not only to provide financial support, but also be his mentor until he graduated so that Mr. Shin would not give up on his dreams. In 2012, he used 8 million won set aside for his 60th birthday party and purchased a standing wheelchair and gave it to Mr. Shin. Professor Park provided both material and emotional support so that his student could achieve his dream. Professor Park stated, "I spent my life breaking down the barriers between disabled and non-disabled persons, but after seeing my student becoming disabled, it hit home hard and I was so hurt that I could not get my hands on my work for a long time. But I trusted that he would overcome his disabilities and step fut into society and fulfill his role as a member of society." He added, "I was actually the one who learned a lot by seeing Geun-seob who had strong willpower and a positive attitude. I thank him very much as his teacher." Mr. Shin, who met his juniors at YU after a long time said, "I was able to regain my laughter and reach my dreams thanks to the help of many people. I now wish to help others achieve their dreams," and added, "I hope that all of who have dreams like mine will all be successful in reaching your dreams."
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50 alumni from class of '72 visits YU to commemorate 40th year of graduation In April, class of '82/Graduation '86 donated 30 million won Development fund donation relay that began in 2014 reaches total 3 billion won including promissory donations [June 20, 2016] The love of alma mater among YU College of Pharmacy alumni continues again this year. On the afternoon of the 17th, senior alumni who graduated 40 years ago visited their alma mater, YU. They are members of the College of Pharmacy class of '72 including Jang Hyun-wook who and Nam Doo-hyeon, who are currently serving as a professor at the YU College of Pharmacy, Shinil Aluminum CEO Ra Jong-soo, who is running a manufacturing company in China, and pharmacists such as Kwon Sook-ja, Shin Jong-tae and Lee Byeong-ho. They met with YU President Noh Seok-kyun and pledged to donate 100 million won that they wished to be used for the development of YU and students at YU. Shinil Aluminum CEO Ra Jong-soo said, "It has been 40 years since I graduated from college, but I always kept an eye and interest on my school. To commemorate our 40th year since graduation, 50 alumni gathered together." He added, "Please use it where it is absolutely needed for the development of our alma mater." YU President Noh Seok-kyun answered, "As the president of YU, I am always grateful for the special love for YU by the College of Pharmacy. The YU College of Pharmacy's tradition of donation is an exemplary case for spreading the culture of social donations." He added, "I am sure that students at YU will feel great about having such great seniors. We will do our best so that your school and your juniors will make you proud." The YU College of Pharmacy's love for YU is quiet special. In April of this year, the class of '82/graduation of '86 alumni association held an alma mater visiting event and teacher appreciation banquet to commemorate their 30th year of graduation, while donating 30 million won. Last year, the class of '81/graduation of '85 alumni association donated 20 million won, and thus the donation for the alma mater development fund of alumni has continued since 2014. The total pledged donations up until now reaches approximately 3 billion won.
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2.9 billion won in national funding for 4 years, establish automobile function safety SW research center Develop automobile convergence parts SW and foster professional human resources Ministry of Education's prime project expected to have synergy effect with BK21 plus project [May 25, 2016] YU (President Noh Seok-kyun) was selected for the 'College ICT Research Center' pursued by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning (MSIP). On the 24th, the MSIP announced the colleges selected for the '2016 College ICT Research Center and Grand ICT Research Center'. Accordingly, YU was newly selected as a College ICT Research Center and will carry out research projects receiving national funding of 2.9 billion years over the next four years.. Upon being selected for this project, YU is planning to establish the 'Automobile Function Safety SW Research Center' to develop function safety-based convergence parts software for automobile electric components, while fostering professional manpower in relevant fields. It is planning to focus on IT and automobile technology convergence research to procure key technologies of the future automobile market that is evolving with autonomous driving automobiles and smart automobiles in order to foster professional human resources. For this, YU will pursue the project by making a consortium with automobile parts companies such as Ajin Industrial and relevant research centers. In particular, YU is focusing on expanding industry-academic education and research programs on smart automobiles for undergraduates with the Ministry of Education's Prime project mainly centered on the Department of Information and Communication Engineering, while also developing core technologies for the automobile industry linked to smart devices through the BK21 Plus Project, and fostering professionals playing pivotal roles in the IT-based future automobile industry. It is thus expected that through industry-academic cooperation with local automobile parts companies, it will contribute greatly in fostering professional human resources, while also improving the competitiveness of the regional industries and developing the local economy. Department of Information and Communication Engineering Professor Park Yong-wan who oversees the YU Automobile Function Safety SW Research Center said, "When taking into account the automobile parts industry and its ripple effect in other industries, as well as the import substitution effect through this project, it is expected that the economic effect will amount to a total of 400 billion won by 2021." He added, "Through the industry-academic-research cooperation, we will procure unparalleled technological power and foster professional manpower to lead the next-generation smart automobile and autonomous driving automobile convergence parts market." Meanwhile, taking into account the technological demands of small and medium sized businesses, as well as the Ministry of Defense's focusing on the 'K-ICT 10 strategic fields', the MSIP selected eight College ICT Research Centers such as YU, Kyunghee University, Sejong University, Chonnam National University, Chungnam National University, Seoul National University of Science and Technology, Kwangwoon University, and Ajou University, and Pusan National University as the Grand ICT Research Center.
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Attended special lecture on Saemaul Undong at Park Chung Hee School of Policy and Saemaul High interest in the success factors of the Saemaul Undong... Followed by in-depth discussions [May 26, 2016] <World Bank WSP representatives visited YU to learn about the Saemaul Undong> The World Bank, which is one of the top 3 international economic organizations together with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Trade Organization), is showing great interest in the Saemaul Undong. The South Asian representatives of the World Bank WSP (Water and Sanitation Program) visited YU to learn about the lessons from the 'Saemaul Undong' of the 70s on the 18th. The World Bank WSP representatives visited domestic rural areas and environmental facilities to learn about Korea's rural development and hygiene facility development from the 16th to the 21st. They took out a day from their tight six day schedule to visit YU. The WSP representatives comprised of 14 mid-level government administrators in the environmental and hygiene sector and World Bank of Pakistan and Bangladesh attended a special lecture program prepared by the YU Park Chung Hee School of Policy and Saemaul (Dean Park Seung-woo). The topic of the special lecture was 'Globalization of the Saemaul Undong' [International Development Cooperation Center Director (Global Saemaul Forum Chairman) Choi Wae-chul] and 'Policies and Strategies of the Saemaul Undong' (Park Chung Hee School of Policy and Saemaul Vice-Dean Kim Ki-soo). During the special lecture, Dean Choi Wae-chul said, "Using the spirit and principles of the Saemaul Undong is very effective for overcoming global poverty and for sustainable development." He added, "It is necessary to utilize the experiences of the Saemaul Undong for water resource management and solving the water shortage problem in South Asia, as well as to improve the public health and hygiene environment." The representatives showed especially high interest on the success factors of the Saemaul Undong going much beyond the scheduled lecture time and holding Q&A sessions and discussions with Mr. Choi. Following the special lecture, the representatives invited about 90 international students studying at the Park Chung Hee School to introduce the WSP program of the World Bank, while challenging the students to show continued interest in finding solutions to the hygiene issue of emerging countries after finishing their studies and returning to their home countries. Meanwhile, the YU Park Chung Hee School of Policy and Saemaul was established in 2011 for the goal of fostering Saemaul development leaders in emerging countries and to globalize the Saemaul Undong. A total of 424 international students from 59 countries around the world enrolled to learn the Saemaul science and the development experience of Korea.
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Choi Young-soo (Chemical Engineering, senior) and Shin Ah-young (International Economics and Business, senior) took leave-of-absence for startup and established S.Melin Samsung provides funding and the Daegu Creative Economy Innovation Center provides technical and marketing consulting High marketability verified by companies and institutes [May 30, 2016] <Co-presidents Choi Young-soo and Shin Ah-young of S.Melin, a startup company awaiting product launching after receiving investments from Samsung> News was made as Samsung made direct investments to a startup founded by YU students. This is the story of 'S.Melin', which is pursuing business by commercializing an idea. Choi Young-soo (25, Chemical Engineering, senior) and Shin Ah-young (22, International Economics and Business, senior) co-founded this company. Trusting their idea, they teamed up and took leave-of-absence from school for start-ups in their senior year. The idea that they launched in the market is the mobile hair product, 'G.Roll'. This product combines the compact size of hair rolls and the functions of straighteners. Their idea was recognized to be excellent by sweeping various startup contests such as the '1st Global Youth Startup Camp' hosted by the Small and Medium Business Administration, '2015 Gyeongbuk Women Startup Contest' and the '2015 Gyeongsangbuk-do Outstanding Venture Startup Club' awards. Furthermore, it was reviewed by Samsung Venture Investments, which is a company specializing in finding and investing in venture companies, and the Daegu Creative Economy Innovation Center, thus being recognized to have high marketability. G.Roll (mobile heated hair roll) Give volume to front and side hair in just 1 minute regardless of the time and place. This is an innovative product that is easy to carry around and cuts down the hair roll wearing time by 1/20, while lasting 3 times longer. <S.Melin's idea product, 'G.Roll'> S.Melin was recognized for the functionality of 'G.Roll' and was selected as a tenant company of 'C-Lab', which is a startup support program of the Daegu Creative Economy Innovation Center, from this year and is receiving consulting on technology and marketing. It is preparing to enter the market in full scale based on the funds invested by Samsung Venture Investments on two separate occasions - once in January and once in May. S.Melin CEO Shin Ah-young showed her confidence stating, "We have received a lot of help from startup seniors and marketing and sales channel pioneering experts since we moved into C-Lab. We are planning to launch not only in Korea, but also foreign markets such as China and Japan as well." 'G.Roll' has registered three design patents and is currently has one patent and one utility model pending, and the product is highly perfected. It also released the product in the cloud funding site, Wadiz (www.wadiz.kr) in early May prior to the official launching, where it achieved its target funding amount in just four days, showing the positive response from the market. Co-CEO Choi Young-soo said, "We participated in many startup contests and our idea became well known. Some companies even stole our idea and are selling similar products in the market. It's quite frustrating and disappointing." But he stated with an air of confidence, "People who pioneered the path of startups who start with just an idea like us have helped us greatly. We hope to be received well in the market and we will show that our product is better than imitations."
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100 YU students share talents in Shinbang-ri, Namcheon-myeon, Gyeongsan As part of the '2nd Volunteer Day', participated in mural painting, gate painting, and door plate making A festival connected to the 'Gyeongsan Happy Town' event held by the city of Gyeongsan [June 1, 2016] <Mural painting talent sharing volunteer activities at Shinbang-ri, Namcheon-myeon, Gyeongsan> On the first day of June, when it was abnormally hot, the quiet rural town was bustling all day long with college students running around every alley of Shinbang-ri, Namcheon-myeon, Gyeongsan. Over 100 YU students came to offer their talents and volunteer in this small town of 80 or so residents. This was carried out as part of the 2nd 'YU Volunteer Day', following the first one held in Heungsan-ri, Namcheon-myeon, Gyeongsan last year. The YU students who participated in the volunteer activities used their talents to draw murals, paint gates, and make door plates. Shinbang-ri village foreman Kim Jong-jae (60) said, "It was great to have the energy in our town with young people visiting after such a long time. The town's atmosphere changed completely in just a few days." He added, "If possible, it would be great to have more of these events together with local universities." YU students worked hard to change the town not showing any concern about the hot weather. The places touched by the YU students began to clearly transform as time passed. The typical alley walls became small galleries and the dark and old gates were brightened to welcome the home owners and guests, and door plates with the names of the residents were hung on each door. Kim Jong-min (23, Fine Arts, senior) who participated in the mural painting volunteer activity said, "It was really fulfilling to utilize what I learned in my major to volunteer. It felt good to see the town look brighter and seeing the residents enjoy it." Kang Min-ji (21, Political Science & Diplomacy, senior) said, "I enjoyed volunteering with other students in various majors. I hope that more students will participate next time and enjoy the 'Volunteer Day' festivities together." Meanwhile, the volunteer activities were carried out connection with the 'Gyeongsan Happy Town' event hosted by the city of Gyeongsan. In this event hosted by the Gyeongsan General Volunteer Center, over 300 people participated including town residents, volunteers, local college students, and farmer bands. In addition to the mural painting by YU students, others also came to share their talents such as medical examinations, taking photos, and barber/beauty services. Furthermore, free food and pungmul-nori (traditional farm performances) were added to turn the quiet rural town into the center of festivities.
