Yeungnam University of Science and Technology hosts startup program showcase

Yeungnam University of Science and Technology held a best-practices showcase for its startup program Monday at the convention hall on the first floor of Cheonma Square.

The startup program allows students to form teams based on their majors and career goals, then independently plan and carry out a range of hands-on and exploratory activities.

From choosing a topic and drawing up a detailed plan to conducting field visits, interviewing experts and producing a final deliverable, students led every stage of the process — building career-planning skills, teamwork and problem-solving ability along the way.

About 50 people attended the showcase, including students from the nine participating teams as well as faculty, staff and other enrolled students.

The event featured introductions to the program and its teams, an exhibition of each team's work, presentations of standout cases, an awards ceremony and networking among participants.

Students presented the process and outcomes of their career-exploration activities, sharing what they had discovered about the value of their majors and their plans for the future.

The top prize went to the "Humanote" team — nursing students Kim Bo-bae, Lee Ye-jun and Gong Yun-hyeon.

The Humanote team carried out activities aimed at strengthening the empathy and humanistic sensibility that nurses need, and drew on that experience to create a children's picture book titled "Maeum-ege Annyeong" ("Hello to the Heart"), designed to be read together by children and their caregivers.

Seong Geum-gil, director of the university's Job Plus Center, said the center would expand its career-exploration and employment support programs so that every student can discover their aptitude and potential and grow into a well-rounded professional equipped with both major-specific competencies and practical workplace skills.