Praised for auto-driving bus food, etc.
“Confident to compete with students in Seoul”
<YU Department of Industrial Design’s ‘Serbus’ team took second place in the Audi Volkswagen Korea College Student Idea Contest>
(clockwise from left to right: Dep. of Industrial Design Sohn Hee-bong, Shin Guk-tae, Kim Mi-hyeon, Professor Seo Hyeok-jun
In a college student idea contest for young and innovative digital service (AVK – Future Mobility Challenge)’ that proposes the future of mobility and makes movement convenient, the YU ‘Serbus’ team won second place (KAIST Graduate School of Green Transportation Dean Cho Cheon-shik Award, prize 3 million won).
I met with these students on the 8th at the YU College of Design and Art Room 221. There were numerous illustrations taped to the glass wall of this lecture room normally used by the Serbus (service + bus) team that configured the synthesis of buses and commercial spaces. Their efforts to come up with good ideas were could be seen here.
Sohn Hee-bong (24, Dep. of Industrial Design, junior) who successfully led the team in the contest said, “I learned about this contest during a study group meeting in October of last year. About 120 teams competed and 10 teams passed the preliminaries, and a final 5 team received mentoring to make a final presentation.” He continued to explain, “We proposed to make it possible to enjoy services such as hamburgers, coffee, fitness, and cosmetic services in the self-driving bus. It is possible to separate or combine spaces to change the services offered for different time frames.”
Shin Guk-tae (23, Dep. of Industrial Design, junior) said, “The process of finding a contact point considering design and technical aspects was difficult. I was focused more on design, which is my major, and so we came up with solutions by receiving mentoring in technical parts.” He added with a smile, “I no longer had to feel intimidated because I attend a college outside of Seoul and became confident that I could compete with students in Seoul.”
Professor Seo Hyeok-jun (34, Department of Industrial Design) explained the birth of the Serbus team saying, “It takes more than just one cool image. Scores are given for the thought put into the idea and how it is developed through the final selection process, and that is why many people say the AVK contest is harder than others.” He added, “Even though the students live in a smaller region, they should participate in larger contests such as international contests to gain insight on changes in the future vehicle industry and the importance of transportation services, while also learning which brands and companies are making what kind of preparations, and also broaden their horizons.”
This contest began in December of last year by Audi-Volkswagen targeting Korean college students. The five teams selected for the finals are given opportunities to receive mentor programs with automobile experts and relevant scholars. The first-place team is given a cash prize of 10 million won, an opportunity to visit the head office in Germany, and bonus points when applying to internship programs of Audi-Volkswagen Korea.
