Have you ever taken classes related with Changwon-si at KU? The classes receive some support funds for students to resolve their projects about the city from Changwon-si. Changwon-si held the Region-University Project Presentation last December. This project was a business for discovering and reflecting future-oriented ideas by using rich human and material resources of University. This project was a place where students were able to suggest various innovative ideas for the city.
In this presentation, students from the Department of Sociology of KU got awards. Among the winners, a team named KUKU won the grand prize in this presentation. KUKU’s project was that sustainable construction of community’s nature. Moreover, the residents, not Community Service Center, managed their community spontaneously via a consultative group of Making Village for Gu-am 2 dong which had been selected by supporting business of 2019 region-university sectoral consultative group. Among other winners, KT had an interview with Baek Seung-dae from the Department of Sociology, one of the KUKU team’s members. Let’s read his project’s process and feelings.
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Q: What made you participate in the Region-University Project?
A: I participated in an intramural region-university contest in the first half of 2019. For the contest, I proceeded my project, Making Village for Gu-am 2 dong, and my team won the grand prize. After that, I was looking for a way to proceed the project systematically and then, my professor introduced Region-University Project of Changwon-si to me.
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Q: How did you start the project first?
A: My team’s project name was Making Village for Gu-am 2 dong. I took a class whose assignment was to develop region. I discussed the topic of the assignment with my team members. Then, one of them who lives in Gu-am 2 dong suggested several problems at her community and asked us to solve these problems together. Our team members agreed to do that, so we started this project. -
Q: Were there any difficulties?
A: I had three difficulties. Firstly, as a university student, it was financially difficult to solve the problems targeting community and institute a new program. However, I was able to be supported about two million won by applying supporting of consultative group via intramural Center of Innovation for University. Secondly, the project was on a large scale. It was not a short-term but sustainable project. It was hard to make a program that can be sustainable and shared with the residents. In this problem, a graduate student of KU gave my team help and advice. Lastly, it was the hardest thing. To solve some problems of the community by instituting Living Lab, I had four meetings with the residents. However, the residents’ ideas were so varied that I was unable to accept all of their ideas. -
Q: How did you feel about winning the grand prize?
A: I was very happy to win the grand prize at outside the campus as well as the top prize in the campus. I was also proud of this program itself, but I was responsible for the community program I had made. Moreover, I think I should continuously agonize how to develop this project efficiently. -
It looks great for all of the winners to have planned all things from A to Z by themselves. As students, they might find it difficult to specifically proceed several things, but when they needed support funds, they were able to receive the funds! In this way, if you have an opportunity to take classes related with Region-University Project, I recommend you participate in many contests at KU or outside the campus. As you can be whatever you want, your ideas can also be whatever someone’s needs are! Changwon-si is always waiting for KU students’ creative ideas.
