"Shall We Spark a Science Hallyu... I'm the BTS of Science and Technology!" UNIST Gathers for STEM Education Innovation

3 Days at Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology Headquarters '2021 U-Challenge Festival'

60 Research Teams Tackling Industry Problems Predict a 'Big Hit' Success

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) is gathering ‘BTS’. They are the ‘science BTS’ who will spread our creative technology worldwide and ignite a Korean Wave in science.

For the innovation of science and engineering education in Korea, the achievements of the past six months, dreaming of a ‘Big Hit’ globally, are showcased in one place.

It is the ‘2021 U-Challenge Festival’ held on the 3rd at UNIST University Headquarters’ Gyeongdong Hall and auditorium area.

At this event, 60 teams and 290 students from UNIST and Ulsan University, participating in the Ministry of Science and ICT’s ‘Field-Linked Future-Leading Talent Nurturing Support Project,’ will introduce their achievements and compete through contests.

The students have worked in teams of 4 to 5 members in club form to solve problems of Ulsan’s local industries. They focused especially on research using advanced science and technology, with professors, teaching assistants, and industry mentors supporting them as collaborators.

Each research team carried out projects centered on ‘future mobility,’ ‘eco-friendly energy,’ and ‘artificial intelligence (AI) and smart factories.’

As a result, research outcomes such as the development of AI predicting worker errors for smart production and the implementation of environmental recognition algorithms for safe drones have emerged rapidly.

Kim Sung-yeop, Dean of the College of Engineering at UNIST and head of this project, said, “This event is the first showcase of students who dreamed of becoming the BTS of the science and technology world and freely expressed their talents,” adding, “It is also significant that UNIST and Ulsan University students challenged regional industrial innovation through self-directed activities closely linked to Ulsan’s industrial sites.”

On the 4th floor of UNIST University Headquarters in Gyeongdong Hall, booths displaying each research team’s results will be set up. The exhibition site will be accessible both offline and via online streaming.

Among the research teams, eight teams advancing to the finals will select award-winning teams through presentations, and popular teams will be chosen through voting on the website. Various events will also be prepared for the festival held both online and offline.

On the same day, UNIST will also hold an exhibition on the first floor of Natural Science Building 108 showcasing the achievements of the ‘Artificial Intelligence Challenges Program (AICP)’ and the ‘Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Research Project (UIRP)’ conducted in 2021.

The exhibition will display the results of 22 groups participating in UIRP and 23 groups in AICP. These two programs were also established to support students’ autonomous research topic selection and exploration activities.

President Lee Yong-hoon said, “Innovative changes in undergraduate education are necessary to nurture future-leading science and engineering talents,” and added, “We will strive to lead new education where students set problems themselves, seek knowledge for problem-solving independently, and take on challenges.”

UNIST and Ulsan University were selected in April 2021 for the Ministry of Science and ICT’s ‘Field-Linked Future-Leading Talent Nurturing Support Project.’ The two universities have formed and operated 60 university student research teams to solve problems of Ulsan’s local industries. They have conducted education and research support projects to enable students to autonomously challenge field problem-solving.