UNIST, More Than Just Academics... Receives Minister of Education Commendation at Korea Education Donation Awards

14 Years of Education Donation... Bridging the Regional Science and Culture Gap
University Student Mentors Take the Lead... Customized, Student-Centered Education

Knowledge grows stronger when it is shared.

The UNIST Leadership Center (President: Chong Rae Park) received the Minister of Education Commendation at the 14th Korea Education Donation Award ceremony held at Suwon Messe in Gyeonggi Province on December 12.

Youngdo Choi, Director of the UNIST Leadership Center (right), is posing for a commemorative photo after receiving the Minister of Education Commendation for the 'Korea Education Donation Award.' Provided by UNIST

This award is jointly organized by the Ministry of Education and the Korea Foundation for the Advancement of Science and Creativity.

Since 2011, the Leadership Center has provided STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)-based career and inquiry education to more than 33,000 local youths over the past 14 years. Its continued commitment to hands-on, experience-based education donation in the fields of science and technology led to this recognition.

This year, the center operated a STEM mentoring group consisting of 18 UNIST students. The mentors conducted experiment-centered educational programs at libraries and schools in the Ulsan region. The programs are designed and led directly by university students.

Starting with the "Meet UNIST at Seonbawi" program in cooperation with Seonbawi Library, the center also provided STEM education at Ulsan Foreign Language High School, Ulsan Gangnam Office of Education Gifted Leadership Camp, and Eonyang Elementary School. On December 5, a program for middle school students from the Busan Western Office of Education was also included, allowing more than 1,000 students to experience the UNIST STEM curriculum this year alone.

The education donation activities were carried out based on cooperation with local governments. Ulju County Office, Ulsan Metropolitan Office of Education, Buk-gu Office of Ulsan, and Ulsan Metropolitan City provided budget and administrative support to help run the programs.

Starting this year, STEM education donation activities are expanding from Ulsan to the Busan and Gyeongnam regions. In particular, a partnership was established with the PKNU Gyeongsang Region Education Donation Hub Center to build a regional cooperation system.

An agreement with the Busan Western Office of Education is also forthcoming, which is expected to further stabilize the operation of STEM programs for students in the western part of Busan.

A representative from the Leadership Center stated, "We plan to further develop our STEM education donation model centered on the UNIST student mentoring group," adding, "Based on this, we will expand regional cooperation connecting Ulsan, Busan, and Gyeongnam to support youth in exploring career paths and building competencies in science and technology."