<YU students selected for overseas internship programs hosted by the government and provincial authorities, and preparing to go overseas>
(clockwise from rear left, Nam Dong-woo, Kim Jae-geon, Han Bo-ra, Yang Ha-eun)
YU (President Noh Seok-kyun) students were selected en masse as overseas internship program participants hosted by the government and local authorities and are receiving attention as global talents.
Recently, two YU students were selected by the Ministry of Foreign Affair's Public Diplomacy Field Training Center and 10 YU students were selected for the '2016 College Student Overseas Intern Project' overseen by Gyeongsangbuk-do. Thus, a total of 12 YU students were verified by the government and provincial authorities and are waiting to be dispatched overseas.
The Overseas Public Diplomacy Field Training Center project is overseen by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to provide an opportunity for understanding and field experience in public diplomacy activities for college students, and the students selected earlier this year will work for six months. YU students selected for this are Yang Ha-eun (23, Biotechnology, senior) and Han Bo-ra (23, English and English Literature, senior), and they will be in charge of public diplomacy support operations at the Korean embassies in Turkey and Bulgaria, respectively.
Miss Yang, who will be going to the Korean Embassy in Turkey in July, is an expert on Turkey. She went on a one-year language program to Turkey in 2013 to learn the Turkish language, and last year at the Daegu District Court, she has served as a translator and interpreter in Turkish. Miss Yang said she became interested in Turkey after the football match Turkey in the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup and said, "I want to learn more about the public diplomacy culture by working at the embassy."
Miss Han is the model YU global talent systematically fostered through YU's global programs. Miss Han studied in the US for one semester through the language study program provided by YU. She then went to the Netherlands as an exchange student for one year to a sister university, and has the dream of working at a Korean embassy abroad.
Miss Han said, "When I went to the Netherlands as an exchange student, I taught foreigners Korean and served Korean food that I made, as part of my efforts to share Korea as a private ambassador." She added, "I made my portfolio based on those experiences and applied for the internship, and I received good results."
YU students are also receiving high expectations in foreign companies. Ten YU students were selected for the 8th College Overseas Internship Program in 2016 hosted by Gyeongsangbuk-do. A total of 293 students were dispatched to this project so far, and 174 of them (59.4%) were YU students, thus being recognized for their global competitiveness.
The selected students will engage in various activities such as trade, finances, HR and marketing at H Mart and Seoul Trading located in New Jersey for one year. Unlike the overseas institute interns, they will work in specialized fields of companies and are expected to gain both global sensitivities and practical abilities.
Kim Jae-geon (23, International Economics and Business, senior), who will be working in the trade part of Seoul Trading in the US from July, said, "I wanted to utilize my major and work in trade after graduating. This internship will be a great experience." Also, Nam Dong-woo (24, Business Administration, junior), who will work at H Mart from December, said, "During this internship, I will make networks with as many people as possible and gain various experiences."
Though their countries and institutes are different, they all have clear goals and are the future global leaders. They agreed that, "It is interesting enough to go out into the bigger world to make relationships with various people and to learn new things," and they added, "We will come back as global talents who are competitive anywhere in the world."
When asked about the strengths of YU students in overseas internship programs hosted by the government and local authorities, YU External Cooperation Office Director Shin Seung-hun said, "It means that they have been recognized for not only their global capacities such as language, but also work capacities" and added, "We will continuously expand overseas internships, exchange student, and backpacking programs in addition to the overseas internship programs provided by outside institutes so that YU students can gain more global competitiveness."
