A meeting event with President Seong Keun Kim was held on Oct. 11, and it proceeded with the concept of the American party — the question and answer (Q&A) was shuttled amid the free atmosphere with a reception in the C5 Conference Hall. The meeting accommodated up to 120 people and various members including students and administrative staff attended. The greetings of the President marked the beginning and a Q&A session based on pre-collected inquiries went along briefly before the reception.
  During the reception, attendees enjoyed refreshments and talked freely with the President, and he continued the second Q&A session with the inquiries raised during the reception. Questions about campus facilities such as the sports field and the open-air theater were answered as part of the campus master plan, a large-scale and long-term project adding and improving campus facilities, as well as increasing available space relative to the campus area.
  One of the other intensely addressed topics was the future plan for the student internationalization program. Existing programs are restricted to the academic schedule and recently, some programs were not permitted to students who did not satisfy the requirements due to their military service. Accordingly, the President announced the freshmen voucher program that provides a specific budget that allows freshmen to structure plans to participate in global activities until the time of graduation. It has the goal of guaranteeing students’ autonomy, and this program will be implemented as early as next year. For those who are not freshmen, the budget is paid in proportion to the number of semesters left, and in the case of graduate students, they have a chance to receive double degrees with schools abroad. The President emphasized the importance of this program and will establish global programs with the direction that POSTECH should have more outward eyes, contrary to the status that it is located in the provinces.
  The concerns related to students returning to school after the military service were also discussed in the meeting. He expressed the opinion that it is necessary to prepare a program for returning students. In addition, he said he would revitalize counseling services for career support, and there was a case in which the counseling center played an effective role, so the president would like to assist students to get back on track by activating it. He concluded his answer by saying it is not wrong that students’ human rights and welfare are overemphasized.
  The meeting was, in prosperity, finished with the President’s praise, “I felt that the students have a strong solidarity and independence, and the spirit of pioneering their own path seemed advisable.” A wide range of questions filled the conference hall, with honest and open communication between the President and students. President Kim said he would attentively listen to on-campus problems and reflect on them and asked the students to “do their best to grow as human beings.”