Busan National University Launches Faculty-Led Volunteer Group 'Arise PNU Global Social Contribution Team'... First Dispatch to Cambodia

Two Teams of Professors, Staff, and Students Dispatched Locally by the University’s Catholic Professors Association and Department of Early Childhood Education Volunteer Groups
Customized Education in Environmental Improvement, Art, Physical Education, Sex and Health, and Professional Early Childhood Education Support

Busan National University, which is spending a busy winter break engaged in global overseas volunteer work, is expanding its scope of activities by dispatching overseas volunteer teams that include not only students but also professors and staff, presenting a new model of social contribution.

Busan National University (President Choi Jae-won) announced on the 4th that the professor-led volunteer group ‘Arise PNU Global Social Contribution Team’ was launched and that two teams have been conducting educational and environmental improvement volunteer activities in Cambodia from January 31 to February 10.

Busan National University’s ‘Arise PNU Global Social Contribution Group’ is taking a commemorative photo with local officials and children in Cambodia. Photo by Busan National University

The ‘Arise PNU Global Social Contribution Team’ was organized for the first time this year with support from the National University Development Project to activate social contribution by professors. It is a multidisciplinary contribution team composed of Busan National University professors, staff, and students, conducting volunteer activities focused on sustainable education and environmental improvement.

This dispatch includes the ‘Bridge of Hope Volunteer Team,’ centered on the university’s Catholic Professors Association, and the ‘Ruotloha (meaning ‘growth’ in Khmer) Volunteer Team,’ composed of professors, lecturers, and graduate students from the Department of Early Childhood Education. They are carrying out activities tailored to local needs such as customized education, improvement of educational environments, and professional early childhood education support.

The ‘Team Bridge of Hope Volunteer Team,’ consisting of 14 members including six professors from various majors such as the Convergence Department, Fine Arts, Social Welfare, Trade, Tourism Convention, and Library and Information Science, centered on the Catholic Professors Association, along with staff and students, has been working hard from January 31 to February 8 at Tsuda Elementary School in Prey Veng Province, Cambodia, to plant seeds of hope and self-reliance in the local community. They are improving the school environment by repairing classroom walls, books, and desks, and providing quality learning environments by conducting art and physical education classes for elementary and middle school students, as well as sex education and health education upon local request.

The Ruotloha Volunteer Team, consisting of eight members led by four professors and lecturers from the Department of Early Childhood Education, has been conducting professional teacher workshops and educational volunteer activities from February 1 to 10 in cooperation with KOICA at the Phnom Penh Kindergarten Teacher Training Center and its affiliated kindergarten, the only early childhood teacher training institution in Cambodia. They support digital literacy and media utilization education, develop teacher retraining manuals, and provide systematic educational volunteer services for over 230 young children, laying the foundation for a long-term and sustainable educational base by improving the quality of early childhood education and nurturing professional personnel in Cambodia’s challenging environment.

This global social contribution team activity is expected to be an important opportunity for Busan National University to strengthen its public role as a national flagship university and contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In particular, through education volunteer work and environmental improvement activities led by professors, it is anticipated to enhance cooperation with local communities in Cambodia and elevate Busan National University’s international status.

Choi Jae-won, President of Busan National University, said, “Taking this global social contribution activity as an opportunity, we will expand sustainable contribution activities involving professors, staff, and students together,” adding, “Busan National University will lead the role of a bridge connecting the world through sharing and empathy while fulfilling its responsibilities as a global citizen.”

Earlier, to ensure the continuous development of overseas social contribution activities, Busan National University dispatched a united overseas volunteer team composed of students to Suphanburi, Thailand, from December to January. Additionally, through the overseas major volunteer activity ‘Overseas Challenge and Experience,’ 16 teams with 128 members were dispatched to five countries including Thailand and Vietnam to conduct Korean language, Korean culture, and major-focused social contribution activities, striving to provide quality education, health and welfare, and education on basic human rights and inequality reduction to local students.

Busan National University Bridge of Hope volunteers are working on a mural. Photo by Busan National University

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