Community Issues? Dongmyeong University Students Directly Identified and Solved Them... Completed a 6-Month Journey of 'Living Lab'

27th TU-Living Lab Performance Presentation and Awards Ceremony

Elderly Dysphagia Prevention Education Team Wins Grand Prize

29 Teams Active in 6 Fields Including Tourism, Environment, and Health

The scene of the 2020 TU-Living Lab Performance Presentation and Awards Ceremony held at Dongmyung University on January 27.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] The ones who stepped up as 'problem solvers' to address real issues occurring in the local community were university students. Dongmyung University's Living Lab project bore fruit after a six-month journey.

Dongmyung University held an awards ceremony to honor the efforts of these ingenious problem solvers.

The top performing teams of Dongmyung University's Living Lab, which directly tackled local community issues, were the Elderly Dysphagia Prevention Education Team and the Hidden Attractions Exploration Team.

The 2020 TU-Living Lab Performance Presentation and Awards Ceremony, conducted by Dongmyung University to deeply engage in solving social issues and provide solutions, was held on January 27.

At 1:30 PM that day, the TU-Living Lab Performance Presentation was held at Dongmyung Gallery, where 10 teams that passed the preliminary round attended and presented their activities and key achievements.

The grand prize was awarded to the Young & Smart Team (Team Leader Kang Hyun-ji, Department of Speech Therapy and Audiology, Year 3; Advisor Professor Lee Soo-jung, Department of Speech Therapy and Audiology) for their project “Swallowing Disorder and Prevention Education for the Elderly in the Region.”

The Excellence Award went to the TU Public Relations Ambassadors + Supporters Union Team (Team Leader Jung Myung-eun, Department of Early Childhood Education, Year 4; Advisor Professor Park Soo-young, Department of Counseling Psychology) for their “Touring Hidden Attractions in the Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam Region and Differentiated SNS Promotion Activities.”

The Merit Award was given to ▲ the OutCOVID Team (Team Leader Yang Moon-hyuk, Department of Sports Rehabilitation, Year 4; Advisor Professor Bang Hyun-seok, Department of Sports Rehabilitation) for “Producing COVID-19 Prevention Kits to Revitalize Indoor Sports,” and ▲ the Infection Control Team (Team Leader Choi Min-ji, Department of Nursing, Year 3; Advisor Professor Lee Hyun-joo, Department of Nursing) for “Personal Hygiene Management Education for Infants and Preschool Children.”

The Encouragement Award recipients included ▲ the Good Voice Season 2 Team (Team Leader Kim Yeo-won, Department of Speech Therapy and Audiology, Year 2; Advisor Professor Song Yoon-kyung, Department of Speech Therapy and Audiology) for “Evaluation, Treatment, and Prevention Education of Voice Problems for Busan City Daycare Teachers,” ▲ the Cheongkkaeguri Team (Team Leader Woo Eun-ah, Department of Counseling Psychology, Year 4; Advisor Professor Park Soo-young, Department of Counseling Psychology) for “Promoting Youth Training Facilities and Youth Activity Programs for Busan Area Adolescents,” and ▲ the Pink Road Team (Team Leader Shim Young-kyung, Department of Nursing, Year 2; Advisor Professor Kim Sung-hae, Department of Nursing) for the “Pink Road Project to Expand Breast Self-Examination Practice.”

The Dongmyung University LINC+ Project Group (Project Director Shin Dong-seok) and the Community Collaboration Center (Center Director Park Soo-young) conducted TU-Living Lab activities for six months starting from June last year. A total of 172 participants from 29 teams across 13 departments took part in six fields: ▲ tourism ▲ education ▲ environment ▲ health ▲ safety ▲ welfare.

President Jeong Hong-seop said, “Through the Living Lab activities, which are gaining attention as a new social innovation model and sustainable innovative growth, students have had a great opportunity to increase their interest in and solve local community issues, fostering coexistence with society.”

So far, 28 students from 6 teams in 2018 and 131 students from 24 teams in 2019 have participated in Dongmyung University's extracurricular Living Lab program.

The term ‘living lab’ refers to a ‘living laboratory’ that goes beyond campus walls to explore real society, identify problems, and propose solutions through public-private-citizen collaborative convergence activities.