Postechian Column: SES program at hospital, the best vacation ever
Postechian Column: SES program at hospital, the best vacation ever
  • Lim Dong Hyun (ME 14)
  • 승인 2016.09.07 17:28
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Major change in this year in POSTECH was that the period of summer vacation has been increased. Main reason is SES (Summer Experience in Society) program. Until now, five times of vacations had been given to me. And I am sure that this vacation was the best one ever.
SES was a valuable experience for me. I work at BME, abbreviation for Biomedical engineering, laboratory in Asan Medical Center, in Seoul. (BME studies the fusion of medicine and engineering. Typical example is a surgery robot.) Actually, I had no experience for utilizing my knowledge. It is ironic that I study hard to stack knowledge, but that is all. Internship program gave me a chance to practically use what I know. In this period, I got opportunity to participate in a study to improve force-measurement equipment required for bone cutting. While designing a part operated by a motor, I utilized 3D designing tool. That is what I learned in CAD class, our major subject. However, I did not just use what I know. I also much learned. Experimental tips like how to select the most suitable motor were what I could not learn in class.
I am reminded of the first day on getting to work. The most surprising thing on the first day was that lots of people had been starting a day when I might have been sleeping if I had not commuted. Though it was 7 AM, early in the morning, bus was full of commuters and even some of them could not sit. As these lives were repeated, I was encouraged by them. Vacation is a precious period, but I had an impression that I am wasting it away. I asked myself how can I spend a vacation more wisely. In spare time at work, I searched what I need to prepare for studying abroad. As TOEFL score is needed, I registered English academy for a month. Also, I found interesting extracurricular activity for next semester, and I was accepted after interview. For these reasons, this summer came to be the most active vacation.
However, SES left some points to be desired. First of all, company lists for students to choose from were limited. Asan medical center was quite far from my house, but I had no choice but to intern at here because Asan was the only choice. If more lists were added, I would be able to compare with a closer workplace. Also, system of SES program was not completely formed. The role of school was to connect between company and student, but that role was vague and information about each other unbalanced.
I believe that these points would be improved next year, and I hope more students participate in SES program to learn from society and find themselves useful.