The Seoul Forum 2011 was held on Sep. 27~28, with a subtitle, “Science & Technology is Future: Creativity, Convergence, Communication.” I could feel the strong will to solve the current problems with science in the “Science & Technology is Future,” part of the subtitle . Then, what are the current problems which should be solved with science? Chaired Professor Jae-Chun Chae of the Dept. of Eco-science at Ewha Womans University described the problem as “homework.” He said “Korea has been considered as successful at solving the given problems. However, in order to proceed to a higher ground, it is crucial to start writing questions .” I gained a profound understanding through the discussions about Korea, and the phrase ‘Science is the future,’ which made me rethink about POSTECH with a thought that the phrase has a very close relationship with aur goals.
The Forum consisted of 3 sessions, each proceeded by a lecture and discussion characterized by the keywords, “Creativity, Convergence, and Communication.” Though it is impossible to summarize the entire argument in this single writing, I would sum up the forum in the following way. The first session, Creativity, concluded that to overcome the stagnation, and to change the paradigm, we should try the blue-sky research by exploring the area not yet conquered by others, and strive for curiosity-driven research. The second session, with Convergence as the key word, said that it is important to promote academic-industrial collaboration in convergence. President Yongmin Kim, the speaker for this session, said that he witnessed many successful results when science, engineering, and industry do their jobs. Communication was the last session for the forum which dealt with the idea, ‘Science for all’, advocating the “Democratization of science”. To communicate in science language, the scientists must lower the barrier of the science, and the public should learn more about the advancements in science.
In recent years, there have been numerous changes in the undergraduate course in POSTECH. Those changes are in accordance with the trends conveyed at the forum. For instance, Undergraduate Research Program (URP) provides undergraduate students an opportunity to challenge and design their own research. The reformed curriculum based on programs such as Activity Based Curriculum(ABC) and Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences(HASS) also gives a chance to explore materials outside one? major. Department of Creative IT Excellence Engineering focuses on the convergence of information technology, humanities, social science, and entrepreneurship as these are becoming the new trends. Also, many revisions, both macroscopic and microscopic, have been made to the basic and major related courses. These challenges to amend the current situations to move forward will help Postechians to perform curiosity-driven research, leading to an opportunity to occupy better grounds in the blue-sky research.
Although school policies have their own directions, they seem to have several shortcomings in implementing these plans. ABC and HASS were incomplete plans, and were not even fully established until 1 week before the 2011 matriculation. In addition, it caused many problems, such as enormous burden of homework on freshman, due to the lack of communication between the affected students and those who were in charge of forming the curriculum. Even though they have finalized the curriculum now, there still remain unexplained questions. Of course, existing plans also show some problems. For students who entered in 2008~10, Ocaml was used in the basic programming language course. As incredible and remarkable as it may be in the field of computer science, it ended up returning to the previous language, C, because there wasn’t enough communication between the departments. Impatient decisions and lack of communication have caused such problems.
The conclusion of the forum was that we must take paths that no one has taken, collaborate with each other effectively, and communicate amicably with co-workers. This is not too far away from our basic knowledge. It is also similar to the solution that is very often discussed in the media. At POSTECH, this very solution is the main cause of the problem. Its members already know reasons for failures, but they don’t solve the puzzle. It is an urgent matter that we must conquer as soon as possible. For the sake of POSTECH’s development and excellence, what is the most appropriate way to approach our destination? The solution is simple enough to say in a single sentence. Not some groups, but all Postechians, must seek the way and revise the plan not in haste. From now on, let’s start to discuss about the way to promote effective communication, the way to refrain from making impatient decisions, and implement the Vision for POSTECH.
Tack geun, You(EE, '10)
