GIST Successfully Completes Regional Startup Experience Center Training

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Gwan-woo] Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) announced on the 20th that it conducted entrepreneurship education and practical training using Mandal-Art (lotus technique) for third-year students at Munseong Middle School.

Mandal-Art is a thinking technique developed in 1987 by Japanese designer Hiroaki Imaizumi. It helps generate diverse ideas by visualizing them in the shape of a fully bloomed lotus flower.

The Regional Startup Experience Center is a project that utilizes local community infrastructure to operate specialized startup experience programs, support school startup experience education, and build networks within the region.

It establishes a systematic cooperation system inside and outside schools and actively supports students to grow into future innovative talents through richer experiences.

From the 2nd to the 9th, GIST provided entrepreneurship education and practical training to expand startup ideas using Mandal-Art over four class periods for a total of 160 third-year students across six classes at Munseong Middle School.

Students worked in groups of 5 to 6 to expand ideas through Mandal-Art, combining and merging ideas with one another. The ideas generated were shared with other teams through 3-minute speeches, expanding the ideas further. This engaging education encouraged students to develop an interest in startups without feeling bored.

A student who participated in the program said, “At first, the word ‘startup’ was unfamiliar and I wasn’t interested, but by learning through examples and doing group activities with friends, it was very fun and I was able to approach startups more easily.”

Jo Byung-kwan, Director of the GIST Startup Promotion Center, said, “We aim to spread the right entrepreneurial mindset so that young people in the Gwangju area can grow into innovative future talents with creativity and a spirit of challenge.” He added, “GIST will continue to provide entrepreneurship education that offers practical help for students in career planning and cultivating entrepreneurial spirit.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.