What Do You Think About ALPHA
What Do You Think About ALPHA
  • Reporter Park Tae-yoon
  • 승인 2013.03.20 23:38
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ALPHA (Active Leaders of POSTECH Honor Association) was founded by Educational Affairs and Records last year. The objective of ALPHA is cultivating people of talent who contribute to human society and creating unique culture of POSTECH based on honor, service, and leadership. However, it created a great sensation because of the conditions of application including GPA and decision to specifying the name of its members in diploma.
The necessity of ALPHA
Actually, if ALPHA was organized only for volunteer service and leadership, similar organizations would already exist such as “Gachibaewoom” that strives to enhance the education of middle school students living in desolate areas in Pohang and “SLEST (Student Leaders in Science and Technology)” for growing leadership. However, the objective of ALPHA does not end there. It has pursued to create unique value and culture that Postechians are proud of and revitalize POSTECH. Creating value and culture takes time. Thus, ALPHA? value can not yet be properly estimated.
The previous projects and trial and error
Most organizations need time to consolidate a firm foundation. ALPHA is not be an exception. Nothing memorable came from the program’s first semester. The designed overseas volunteer program was squeezed out by the project “We share the future” funded by Woori Bank. The members visited students of Young-il High School to encourage and to inculcate a sense of passion for learning, but it was not vastly different from the activities of “Gachibaewoom.” The experience of multicultural society and Ig Nobel contest, in which participants show off eccentric ideas, have not gone smoothly due to a lack of funds. As ALPHA does not spend Student Association Fee, it needs assistance from outside of POSTECH. Attracting funding was so difficult that ALPHA used to have help from Educational Affairs and Records. The initial controversy surrounding it debilitated ties among members and interrupted the direction of it.
The upcoming projects
ALPHA plans to hold an appropriate technology contest supported by MEST (Ministry of Educational Science and Technology) in April and an event on Teacher’s Day in May. Especially, they are drawing up plans for a conference for international university students in winter vacation to enhance the value of their education, such as ICIST (International Conference for the Integration of Science and Technology into Society)-KAIST. ALPHA also thinks Postechians have done valuable works and need to communicate with students of other universities. For these, ALPHA will take direct control from attracting funding and inviting guest speakers to managing conferences.
Resolution of ALPHA
Kim Seung-hyun (ME 11) who is the new leader of ALPHA this year emphasized, “Most members did not gather for specifying their name in diploma but just for the love of POSTECH. Therefore, they felt deeply wounded by Postechians’ cruel remarks at first. I think ALPHA is just beginning and is a promising organization. We will do our best to become an independent organization. Please, watch and support the developments of ALPHA.”