On Sept. 16, the “Undergraduate Students Online Meeting with the President” was held. The event was attended by undergraduate students who signed up in advance and school faculty panels including President Moo Hwan Kim, the Director of Admission and Student Affairs, the Dean of Academic Affairs, and other office directors and leaders.
This year’s “Undergraduate Students Online Meeting with the President” marked its third anniversary since the first event was held in 2019 after President Kim took office. For this year’s meeting, students who wished to attend were given a survey from Sept. 2 to Sept. 12, where they filled out questions about any matter related to school or campus life. The questions were addressed by the panels and department associate directors during the meeting.
The event consisted of two parts based on the types of questions. Part 1 was about academics and school/campus life, while part 2 was about COVID-19 and the future of POSTECH.
In response to the question, “Can some classes still be held non-face-to-face after the COVID-19 pandemic?,” the president and panel replied that the off-campus system is currently under discussion. The president added that the school is researching flexible ways to effectively blend on and off campus classes to allow a more diverse experience for students, benchmarking the mixed on and off learning system at Minerva University in the U. S..
The president also mentioned that global firms are building partnerships with POSTECH. Although specific clauses cannot be revealed due to confidentiality obligations, he said that one of the biggest companies in the world has decided to set up a research institute at POSTECH.
In addition, the school renovation project arose as a hot topic during the event. The head of POSTECH Dining Services said that a convenience store will be opened in the school library to resolve inconveniences that students experience due to the lack of facilities around the library. Also, the president mentioned that construction is underway to build the “e-sports Colosseum” on the first floor of the Jigok Community Center. He said he hopes to create a venue for interaction and exchange among university students from all over the world via e-sports.
There were also inquiries about the Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering that is scheduled to open in 2023. In response to the question whether or not an affiliate hospital could be established, the president expressed his hope of establishing a medical school and hospital. This way, he added that Pohang could become a place with a global base hospital where rare diseases could be treated.
This year’s “Undergraduate Students Online Meeting with the President” raised high hopes with the promise of a bright future ahead for POSTECH students. Undergraduates were given a precious opportunity to communicate with school faculty members and ask questions they could not easily address. 
The meeting record will be filed and uploaded to the Student Union Archives.