Graduating with Ph.D. degree is one of the most memorable times a student could have in his/her lifetime. It is after a range of challenges that one is able to impress the senior professors, who are always ready to ask tricky questions, with his/her ability of identifying and solving a research problem. As is the general trend that the most knowledgeable professors are commonly associated with universities of high ranking. The choice of the Institute is thus a crucial ingredient in general terms as to how much excellence a student can show at the end of his/her degree.
Back in the time when I was in search of some suitable institute for Ph.D., only SNU and KAIST were known in the outside world and POSTECH was yet to be seen at 28th place in world university ranking. In fact, I was introduced to POSTECH by a friend who had been working in Pohang Accelerator Laboratory. The glimpse of high quality research and enthusiasm of POSTECH members as told by him made my mind clear to choose POSTECH as my next learning stop. During last three and a half year of my stay in POSTECH, I have learned many things. My days at Computational Design Laboratory would be amongst most memorable days of my life. The enthusiastic, helping and caring environment that I enjoyed here never let me feel away from Pakistan. I am truly honored for being a part of this excellent lab.
When compared to universities in Pakistan, POSTECH has a few differences. Here labs are generally well equipped and the atmosphere of work helps you spend as much time in laboratory as you want. This 24 hour availability of research facilities is one of the key differences in the universities of Korea and Pakistan. The other significant difference is regarding scholarship. The Higher Education Commission of Pakistan provides enough scholarship to any Ph.D. student to ensure that the student focuses on his/her research. However, in POSTECH, especially for married students, this matter is of quite problem where in some cases you will struggle for even 3 meals a day. This is a major reason why international students do not join POSTECH in the number as expected for any university of this international ranking. Another prominent difference is the ease of English language within all the universities and institutes in Pakistan.
Now that I have finished my degree, I will return back to Pakistan, the country I love the most with some of best memories of my life. It had been a truly amazing experience of Korean tradition and culture for me. I have seen POSTECH evolving from a relatively “domestic” to an international university (ex. from a Korean campus to a bilingual campus) and I wish prosperity for it. No matter where I would go around the world, the name of POSTECH from where I got my Ph.D. degree will always be associated with me. And I would most certainly like its name to be recognized and respected elsewhere. I wish best of luck for all the current and future POSTECH members. In the end, I thank my professor Ji Hoon Shim for giving me a chance to work in his lab with all these wonderful people.