Solve Industrial Site Problems! ... UNIST and Ulsan University Host '2022 U-Challenge Festival'

2022 U-Challenge Festival Promotional Poster.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hwang Dooyul] Talents from UNIST and Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) have revealed their achievements in driving regional industrial innovation.

On the 18th, the ‘2022 U-Challenge Festival’ was held at the UNIST main campus.

This event, which introduced the achievements of the ‘BTS (Brain to Society) Practical Problem Research Team’ and ‘Research Clubs,’ was larger in scale and richer in outcomes compared to last year, its inaugural year.

The BTS Practical Problem Research Team is a project team composed of students from UNIST and Ulsan National University who challenge themselves to solve problems in the industrial field. This year, 77 teams with 367 participants took part, an increase of 17 teams and 75 participants compared to last year.

In the research clubs, 62 mentors including industry experts employed at 69 companies in Ulsan and the surrounding region, as well as professors from UNIST and Ulsan National University, participated to enrich the research outcomes.

The event began with an opening ceremony attended by key guests, followed by an exhibition of achievements, on-site interview evaluations, and a closing ceremony including an awards ceremony. Award-winning teams were finally selected through a first round of expert evaluation and a second round of on-site evaluation.

In addition to the grand prize, awards were given to 5 teams receiving gold prizes, 7 teams receiving silver prizes, 16 teams receiving bronze prizes, and 5 teams that received many votes in the online poll. The top 14 teams will participate in the ‘Xcore Plus Festival’ to be held on the 25th at BEXCO in Busan.

The exhibition of achievements was held at Kyungdong Hall on the 4th floor of the UNIST main campus.

There, various research results from different fields were revealed, including a ‘drone flight demonstration’ created by students and an ‘airless tire product exhibition’ printed with a 3D printer. The exhibition site was also broadcast live online.

Kim Sung-yeop, Dean of the College of Engineering at UNIST, said, “I applaud the efforts and achievements of the students who autonomously challenged themselves for the transformation of the regional industry,” adding, “The time spent tackling problems in the industrial field will be a solid stepping stone for their growth as future talents leading science and technology.”

UNIST and Ulsan National University were selected in April last year for the Ministry of Science and ICT’s ‘Field-Linked Future Leading Talent Nurturing Support Project (5 years).’

Based on this, the two universities formed the ‘BTS Practical Problem Research Team’ and have supported the formation and activities of student research clubs. Students formed teams of 4 to 5 members and conducted projects centered on industrial sites together with their advising professors, teaching assistants, and industry mentors.

Lee Yong-hoon, President of UNIST, said, “To nurture future science and technology talents who can solve the problems our society faces, a revolutionary change in science and engineering education is necessary,” adding, “The ‘BTS Practical Problem Research Team’ project, which allows students to quickly learn advanced technologies and develop problem-solving skills through practical experience, will become an innovative model for science and engineering education.”

The opening ceremony was attended by UNIST President Lee Yong-hoon, Dean of the College of Engineering Kim Sung-yeop, Ulsan National University Vice President for Academic Affairs Lee Jae-gi, Project Director Heo Seung-hyun, Ulsan City Hall Innovation Industry Director Nodong Wan, and Ulsan Industry-Academia Convergence Institute Project General Manager Han Young-ro, among others.

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