Departments in POSTECH conduct regular seminars during the semester. In most departments, a seminar is held on once a week, 13-15 times a semester in total. Professors of each department invite lecturers from various fields for the seminar. Some seminars are opened as a lecture for graduate students, but all Postechians including undergraduate students can attend the seminar whenever they want.
The Chemistry department formally holds two kind of seminar. One is for graduate students and the other is for undergraduate students. Seminars for graduate students are opened as a lecture, and seminar topics are decided by recommendations of professors and graduate students in the department. Seminars for undergraduate students are supervised by the student union of the Chemistry department. They are conducted once a semester and professors or graduated seniors make a speech. Both types of seminars are posted on the department’s homepage and are open for all Postechians. In the department of Physics, the seminar schedule is posted on the department’s homepage and BK21 Plus Physics Agency homepage. Seminar topics are not only limited to physics, but also cover other topics like university, researcher’s work, companies, and art. The department of Life Sciences jointly conducts the seminar with the division of Integrative Biosciences and Biotechnology. Information about seminar topics and the schedule is uploaded on Life Sciences department’s homepage. The department of Electrical Engineering lists a seminar schedule on POVIS Announcements, and puts up posters on the first and second floor of the LG Laboratory Building. Detailed information about seminars is on the department’s homepage. Creative IT Engineering department conducts the “originality seminar” and releases the schedule via POVIS Announcements and the department’s homepage. The department of Mathematics, Materials Science and Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Industrial and Management Engineering, Computer Science and Engineering, and Chemical Engineering release information of seminars on their homepages.
Every seminar of each department is opened to all Postechians. Park Sang-hyeon (PHYS, Ph.D. integrated) reviewed his experience attending a physics seminar: “Listening to competent lecturers makes me feel humility. And sometimes, I can get new ideas from other person’s research.” His personal experience about the level of difficulty of seminar is “It depends on who it is, but it is hard for me to completely understand the seminar. It is partially because the seminar is given in English. Also, You can see more professors than students when you go to the seminar. However, I think it would help you to attend a seminar if you have some interest in the seminar topic. You may be inspired. Also you can find a new topic that fascinates you.”
Most seminars take less than an hour and a half. Taking a little time and experiencing several seminars of various departments can be quite tiresome, but it would go a long way toward one’s future career. Also, just entering the department’s homepage and looking over the abstract of seminars can be helpful too.