Two hands-on science camps, offered by UNIST in partnership with Ulju-gun and Ulsan city, concluded another successful summer sessions on Friday, August 9, 2019.
Beginning July 28 and running through to August 9, the Ulasn Dream Camp invited 112 students from 37 middle schools in Ulsan and matched them with 30 UNIST mentors. Prior to that, the ‘Ulju-gun Science Mentoring Program’ was also held from Monday, July 22 for about three weeks. This three-week-long summer camp has been attended by 98 students from 12 middle schools in Ulju-gun and 30 UNIST mentors.
A cermeony, marking the successful completion of this year’s Ulju-gun Science Mentoring Program, was held at UNIST on Friday, August 9, 2019.
These camps are academic enrichment programs that offer students a variety of science based and recreational activities. Through one-on-one mentoring program, students also received guidance from postsecondary science students, studying at UNIST. Each mentor has met with four to five mentees, providing practical advice, encouragement, and support based on their areas of studies.
“Overall, the camp was the best experience and the highlight of my summer,” says Ji-ho Jeon who participated in the summer science camp. “I will do my best to achieve the new goal of becoming a great scientist, like the mentors I met through the program.”
During the course of the event, students received full days of exploring science, technology, engineering and math through hands-on activities, labs, games and week-long projects. In addition to one-on-one mentoring, students also had opportunities to explore the university, meet researchers, and conduct experiments in real labs. Other activities include the Golden Bell Challenge, debating competitions, a game of yut, and sport activities.
The Ulju-gun Science Mentoring Program was was launched in 2011 and has become a representative educational program for UNIST and the local community. In fact, thanks to the successful operation of Ulju-gun Science Mentoring Program, the Ulsan Dream Camp for middle school students in Ulsan has been in operation since 2016.
There are also programs not only for the middle school students, but also for the local high school students. In fact, a group of high school students in Ulju-gun recently participated in the “Hi-Leader Camp’, held from July 20 to 21 to encourage and engage them in the science.
In addition to this, the ‘Intensive STEM Course for Future Science Gifted Students’ also took place from July 22 to 26, 2019. As part of this course, UNIST faculty members offered in-depth, hands-on lessions for loacl high-schoolers who have potential in physics, chemistry and mathematics.
“The primary purpose of our outreach programs is to support science education in the region and beyond,” says President Mooyoung Jung of UNIST. “We will continue to create opportunities to grow together with the local community by leveraging our capabilities.”
Meanwhile, a free-semester career experience program for local middle school students, called ‘Science and Career Experience’ is also scheduled to be held in November.
