Hundreds visit over two days... Big interest in exchange student and overseas internship programs
67 international students from 31 colleges and 16 countries participate to give local tips
First-hand experience and information provided through international exchange students and international goodwill ambassadors
[May 11, 2017]
<2nd YU International EXPO>
YU (President Sur Gil-soo) held the '2nd YU International EXPO'. Hundreds of YU students visited this expo over two days on the 10th and 11th displaying their huge interest in internationalization programs.
YU held the first EXPO in November of last year to help improve the global capacities of students. This is the second EXPO and it not only provided students with international exchange programs offered by the university such as exchange student programs, but also information on overseas internships and overseas employment.
This EXPO was held at the square in front of the clock tower of the front gate of YU on the 10th and 11th hosted by the International Exchange Team international goodwill ambassador and student body. A total of 67 foreign students from 31 universities from 16 countries including the Netherlands, Brazil, Philippines, France and China participated in the event. At each booth designated by country, YU goodwill ambassadors and foreign exchange students studying at YU offered information on exchange student programs and first-hand experiences to YU students.
Mateus Ramos from Brasilia University of Brazil who has been studying at YU as an exchange student since February said, "Through the exchange student program, it is not only possible to experience life and education at YU, but also different student activities compared to that of Brazil. It was an opportunity to break preconceptions by actually experiencing different lifestyles and cultures." He added, "I participated in this EXPO because I wanted other YU students to be able to have such a great experience. I wanted to share details on the studying environment of foreign universities and about daily life abroad as an exchange student."
At this EXPO, foreign students offered first-hand information based on their own experiences on residences, life, culture and education abroad. In particular, this EXPO allowed Korean and foreign students to share useful information and create a community of harmony, and was thus highly popular among participating students.
Kim Gang-min (22, YU School of Fine Arts, sophomore) who received consultation at the French and Thai booths said, "I was always interested in exchange student programs. However, art school students are relatively less interested in exchange student programs, so there was not enough information." He added, "I major in East Asian painting, and this was a good opportunity if it would be possible for a painting major to go abroad as an exchange student, as well as information on how local curricula are operated."
Through this EXPO, YU introduced various overseas programs to students such as exchange student programs and global study programs (GSP), while also offering information on overseas employment and internships with the support of the College Creative Job Center. Furthermore, the activities of YU international goodwill ambassador students who prepared for the EXPO were introduced, and received a huge amount of interest from students by holding a parade-recruiting activity to select the 16th international goodwill ambassadors.
Jung In-joon (25, School of Economics and Finance, junior), the chairperson of the YU international goodwill ambassadors, said, "By holding the second EXPO following our previous one last year, it appears that the interest of students on exchange student programs and overseas internships increased considerably." He added, "Even if it is not the EXPO, there are all types of information available at the school's International Exchange Team and international goodwill ambassadors. I hope that more students will go beyond being just interested and actually participate in the programs to enhance their global capacities."
