Korea Polytechnic University GTEP Enhances Practical Skills at New York Fancy Food Show

Korea Polytechnic University announced that its Regional Specialized Youth Trade Expert Training Program (GTEP) participated in the "New York Fancy Food Show 2025," held at the Javits Center in New York, USA, from June 29 to July 1, providing students with valuable on-site experiences to enhance their global practical skills.

Korea Polytechnic University GTEP Takes a Step Forward in Global Trade Practice at New York Fancy Food Show. Korea Polytechnic University

The participating students jointly operated a booth with industry-academic cooperation companies, directly engaging in practical tasks such as assisting with consultations with overseas buyers, introducing products, interpreting, and conducting market research.

This year's Fancy Food Show (Summer Fancy Food Show 2025) was the largest B2B food exhibition in North America, attracting more than 30,000 food industry professionals from over 100 countries. In particular, it served as a global business platform where a diverse range of industry stakeholders?including food manufacturers, importers, distributors, and buyers?shared the latest food trends and innovative products.

By taking part in such a large-scale event, the Korea Polytechnic University GTEP program enabled students to experience firsthand the trends of the global food industry and provided opportunities for practical exchanges with buyers from various countries. This went beyond simple observation and resulted in educational achievements by allowing students to acquire real-world trade skills.

The participating students enhanced their practical sense through a variety of activities, including assisting with buyer consultations, product explanation and interpretation, competitive brand analysis, and market response surveys. In particular, consultations with buyers conducted in English helped deepen their understanding of the global market and boosted their confidence in practical work.

Oh Junghoon, a third-year business administration major, said, "It was impressive to learn about export pricing concepts such as MOQ and FOB standards on-site," and added, "Directly understanding the food distribution structure and the roles of various stakeholders greatly helped me in setting my career path." Kim Taewoo, a fourth-year student in the Department of Life and Chemical Engineering, said, "It was a very meaningful experience because I was able to gain real practical experience beyond simple observation."

Meanwhile, the GTEP program is a global trade expert training program overseen by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and operated by the Korea International Trade Association. Twenty universities nationwide are currently participating, and since 2015, Korea Polytechnic University has been operating the GTEP program, continuously nurturing young trade talents through a practice-oriented curriculum that includes theoretical education and participation in domestic and international exhibitions.