Nowon-gu Asks Youth for Know-How (Nowon's HOW)

Nowon-gu Asks Youth for Know-How (Nowon's HOW)... Hosts ‘2023 University Student Idea Contest’

Idea Contest for Local University (Graduate) Students, Applications Accepted Until September 8

Awarding a Total of 35 Individuals (Teams) with the Mayor’s Commendation and Prize Money Including 2 Million KRW Grand Prize and 1 Million KRW Gold Prize

Last Year’s Student Proposal ‘Comfortable Feet in Nowon’ Reflected in the Creation of Barefoot Clay Path along Jungnangcheon Stream

Nowon-gu (Mayor Oh Seung-rok) is hosting the ‘2023 University Student Idea Contest’ to incorporate fresh ideas from university students into district administration.

The University Student Idea Contest is a project aimed at introducing students’ ideas into district policies to enhance residents’ convenience and expand students’ opportunities for policy participation.

Now in its fourth year, the contest has energized various policy initiatives by reflecting excellent proposals such as ‘Ttobagi Village’ and ‘Nowon N School’ into actual policies.

This year’s contest theme is ‘Nowon, a Cultural City to Look Forward to Tomorrow.’ It seeks specific and feasible ideas that can improve residents’ daily lives and convenience across all areas of district administration, including culture, economy, education, welfare, health, environment, and transportation.

Any university or graduate student (including those on leave) enrolled at a university located in Nowon-gu or residing in Nowon-gu is eligible to apply. Participation is possible individually or as a team.

The application deadline is September 8. Interested participants can submit their application form and proposal on the Nowon-gu Office website under Communication & Participation → Resident Proposals → University Student Idea Contest bulletin board. Postal or in-person submissions to the Policy Development Team of the Planning and Budget Division at Nowon-gu Office are also accepted.

Submitted proposals will undergo a three-stage evaluation: initial basic evaluation by a citizen participation group, second review by the Proposal Review Working Committee, and final assessment by the Proposal Review Committee, selecting 35 proposals. The top 10 outstanding proposals will compete in a final contest in November to determine the final rankings.

Outstanding proposers will receive certificates signed by the mayor and prize money: 2 million KRW for the grand prize (1 person), 1 million KRW for the gold prize (1 person), 500,000 KRW for the silver prize (1 person), 200,000 KRW for the bronze prize (2 people), and 100,000 KRW for the effort prize (30 people). However, if no proposals meet the criteria during judging, some awards may not be given.

Adopted proposals will be systematically managed by the relevant departments, which will prepare execution management cards detailing concrete plans and regularly monitor implementation status with the overseeing department.

Details about the contest can be found on the Nowon-gu Office website. For further inquiries, contact the Policy Development Team of the Planning and Budget Division.

Last year, 46 ideas were submitted, with 10 selected as outstanding proposals. Excluding three proposals that could not be pursued due to legal and budgetary issues, two have been completed, and five are currently underway.

One student idea from last year, ‘Nowon Where Feet Can Breathe,’ which proposed creating a barefoot walking trail utilizing the district’s natural environment, was reflected in policy this year with the creation of a clay path along Jungnangcheon Stream from Changdong Bridge to Nokcheon Bridge.

Oh Seung-rok, Mayor of Nowon-gu, said, “A small idea can become a turning point that changes the lives of 510,000 Nowon residents,” and added, “We hope many university students will participate so that their diverse and innovative ideas can be reflected in policy.”

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