Stony Brook University SUNY Korea

  The Spring 2023 IGC Career Festival - Find Your Mentors was held on Saturday, March 18, 2023. This event provided a great opportunity for the students from four universities (SUNY Korea, George Mason, Utah, and Ghent) to learn about the diverse career paths, how to prepare for jobs, and interacting with qualified professional mentors from diverse industries. Mentors from LG Display, SK Bioscience, SK Magic, L'oreal, Channel.io, Hyundai Department Store Handsome, and Adriel shared their knowledge and experience from their fields. Students had a post-event evaluation session, and one student said, "I learned that it is important to find what field you want to specialize in and what kind of work you want to do during internships. The name value of where you work is not as important compared to what you learn and the realization of what you want to do in the future."            

  Sije Park, Abhishek Gaire and Seungjun Chae from SUNY Korea, and Labesh Baral from SBU in New York, achieved the highest award, “Undergraduate Best in Show” in the Hack@CEWIT that was held in-person on March 3-5, 2023 at Stony Brook University. The Hack@CEWIT is organized in partnership with industry leaders such as IBM, IEEE, Major League Hacking, NASA, and many others, making it one of the premier hackathons at Stony Brook, United States. Around 300 undergraduate and graduate students participated in this Hackathon; among the 16 prizes, Sije’s team attained the highest award. In this Hackathon, Sije’s team was awarded for their project on “Smart Fridge”. Smart Fridge was inspired by the major issue of food waste and inefficient grocery shopping. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, every year 1.3 billion tons of food is wasted due to discretionary purchases. To exacerbate matters, food waste contributes to climate change as a large amount of methane gas is produced when decomposing food in landfills. Therefore, Sije’s team developed a technology that will help solve this issue for environmental sustainability and economic efficiency. Their team used a combination of technologies, including Amazon Textract OCR tools and AI-powered algorithms, to create a seamless user experience web app. The web app addresses this issue by using OCR technology to scan grocery receipts and track foods before they expire. Using an AI-powered recipe generator, users can discover new recipes based on their ingredients and food items that will expire the quickest. The app also allows users to save their favorite recipes and track their eco points.   For more information about the Hackathon: https://www.cewit.org/hackatcewit/ For more information about “Smart Fridge”: https://devpost.com/software/smart-fridge-7m1qsi   

    Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) ranked first on the Best Fashion Schools In The World For 2023, released on Monday, March 6th by the CEOWORLD magazine.    The magazine took into account of seven major metrics: perceived global brands influencce, recruiters responses, employers feedback, job placement rate, admissions eligibility, specialization, and academic reputation. Click here to read the full article --> LINK

SUNY Korea Spring 2023 Convocation Ceremony 177 students from six majors of Stony Brook University entered the 2023 Spring Semester of SUNY Korea * SUNY Korea Spring 2023 Convocation Ceremony   On February 24th, at the Incheon Global Campus Auditorium, SUNY Korea held the Spring 2023 Convocation Ceremony. A total of 177 students enrolled in Stony Brook University's Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics, Business Management, Computer Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Technology and Society. In his congratulatory speech, President Arthur H. Lee said, "One of the most enjoyable things to do at the university is welcoming new members to the family. We have 177 new students of the most accomplished and the brightest ever. The incoming class this semester is represented by students from 10 different countries, America, Australia, Nepal, Myanmar, Tanzania, Korea, etc. Overall the student body at SUNY Korea now is represented by over 40 countries worldwide. I ask each one of you to be a responsible member to the SUNY Korea family. Think about your long-term goals. Don’t be afraid of failing as you accomplish these goals, especially while you are at school. Setting up short term goals and intermediate goals would help accomplish your long-term goals eventually. “History makers, we change the world” Where do you start? Perhaps you can start with something that you can do right now, tomorrow and next week. Think about what that might be. We have excellent faculty, dedicated staff to support your educational endeavor and help you achieve your educational and life goals” Dr. Carl Lejuez, Executive Vice President and Provost of Stony Brook University (New York Campus), also joined the Convocation Ceremony this year. He stated, " We’re extremely proud of our partnership from Stony Brook with SUNY Korea. We consider it a significant distinction that we helped to establish the first American University in Korea. We’re honored this year to take the place of the number one public university in the State of New York. This combined with our recent designation of the flagship of the SUNY system recognizes what the Stony Brook University is known for a long time. Stonybrook University and FIT across the SUNY system are committed to student success. We take serious role in preparing our students to be leaders of the next generation. Our graduates bring talents to a broad array of employers and our faculty are active in extensive partnership that support innovation, sustainability, community help and creative activity. SUNY Korea shows the power of collaboration between academia, government and industry. And I want to thank all of our faculty and newest students placed to define our new era of excellence for SUNY Korea. Welcome to this new semester of discovery and best of luck.” SUNY Korea, founded in 2012 in Songdo International City and which celebrated its 10th-anniversary last year, is the first American university in Korea to host and operate excellent departments from Stony Brook University (SBU) and Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT). All classes follow the New York campus curriculum in English, and graduates will receive the United States Stony Brook University and Fashion Institute of Technology degrees. SUNY Korea is a STEAM convergence education university that offers courses in Natural Science and Business Management fields (Applied Mathematics and Statistics, Business Management, Computer Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Technology and Society) at Stony Brook University, and Fashion fields (Fashion Business Management, Fashion Design) at Fashion Institute of Technology.

SUNY Korea Signed an MOU with HDC I'PARK Mall - HDC I'PARK Mall offers various opportunities including internship experiences to students at SUNY Korea SUNY Korea (President Arthur H. Lee) and HDC I'PARK Mall (CEO Daesoo Kim) announced that they signed a MOU agreement on February 22. The main contents of this MOU agreement are △Offering HDC I'PARK Mall internship experiences towards outstanding FIT students △Planning of education and trainee program events jointly participated in professors at FIT, SUNY Korea, and executives and employees of HDC I'PARK Mall △Visiting both institutions and developing of various programs are in the works. President of SUNY Korea Arthur H. Lee said, “By forming a new partnership with HDC I'PARK Mall, the trend-setter of Korean Fashion, our FIT college students will have a window of opportunity of experiencing practical work in various fields". HDC I'PARK Mall CEO Daesoo Kim said, “I’m very glad to allow having a practical work experience to students of FIT, one of the world’s top four fashion schools. For the students to grow into experts, we will continue to develop and provide opportunities to improve various work capabilities.”  

SUNY Korea Freshmen, Gather Around! Hosting The Spring 2023 New Student Welcome Week Various programs prepared for freshmen from February 20th to 24th.      The State University of New York, Korea (President Arthur H. Lee) announced that they will hold a welcome week event for the 2023 Spring semester freshmen. The five-day welcome week event at SUNY Korea in Songdo Global Campus, Incheon, will be attended by newcomers from six different Stony Brook University departments: Computer Science, Technology and Society, Mechanical Engineering, Applied Mathematics and Statistics, Business Management, and Electrical and Computer Engineering. The main events include △ A Campus Tour △ Department of Education and dormitory guidance △ Orientation led by the Student Services Team △ Lunch in each department, and other various activities. New students will have time to get to know each other and be informed about university life during the welcome week event. In particular, on the 24th, the last day of the welcome week, the Spring 2023 Convocation will be held at the Incheon Global Campus Auditorium to celebrate the first big step up of college life for freshmen. President Arthur H. Lee said, "We have prepared various programs to help students adapt well to university life and maintain their studies. Students are the key reason why SUNY Korea exists, and we will provide excellent educational opportunities to help develop students into talented people to become the next generation of the world". He also said, "As it is the first face-to-face event since the end of indoor face masks, we will make every effort to ensure the health and safety of students."  

Opening Ceremony of "Crafts in Fashion" 4 FIT Graduates Participated in this Special Exhibition On Monday February 6th, the opening ceremony of the "Crafts in Fashion" held in The Seoul Craft Museum (SeMoCA) Exhibition Building 1. The theme of the "Crafts in Fashion" exhibition introduces the craft elements used in the works of the first-generation fashion in Korea. Four FIT graduate students collaborated with The Seoul Craft Museum (SeMoCA) on the special exhibition. Hannah Kim, Yoojin Lee, Percy Batdorj, and Nicole Martinez’s designs were inspired by the main historical designers Kyungja Choi, Nora Noh, and Andre Kim, designing their clothing elements from a historical to a modern look. The students’ works were selected during the 2022 June AAS Exhibition, when the director of the SeMoCA museum visited SUNY Korea. The director of SeMoCA stated, “[The students’ works] is way higher and better than what I expected, and it will be very difficult to make a garments selection.” SUNY Korea’s FIT Professor Bonkuk Koo commented on why this exhibition was significant, saying, “Even if we are in the generation of digital or virtual, we always learn from history and it is the same for Fashion. To my memory, this is the first and biggest fashion exhibition that praises three masters in Korean fashion history. This exhibition will give priceless voices to the current generation that is working or studying in Fashion.” Linda Kim, an FIT professor of SUNY Korea, praised the four student’s participation in this exhibition: “In general, notable museums like SeMoCA are hesitant to exhibit student works due to the quality of works produced and the many external criticisms they could face. However, our students' meticulously sewn and beautifully constructed pieces satisfied the museum's standards. I am very proud of our fashion design students and the exquisite and fascinating works they produced. And thanks to Director Heisoon Shin of the SUNY Korea Museum of Modern Costume, who served as a bridge for these students, offering the excellent opportunity to exhibit their beautiful pieces at SeMoCA.” SeMoCa is the first public museum of craft art in Korea and recently opened in 2021. It is a prestigious museum that only exhibits works with technical, artistic, and cultural values of craft. This special exhibition is located on the 3rd floor of The Seoul Craft Museum Exhibition Building 1 and the duration of this exhibition will be from February 7, 2023 to April 2, 2023.         Shapes of Grace, Colors of Innocence Hannah Kim   Blooming; New Hope and Youth Yoojin Lee   Rebirth Percy Batdorj   Diamond of the Night Nicole Martinez    

  Vincent Quan, professor and department chair of FIT SUNY Korea, was mentioned in FASHIONISTA, a well-known fashion news website published by Breaking Media. In this article Professor Quan quoted, “FIT SUNY Korea offers an unparalleled win-win for the students and the creative/fashion sector in which we serve." To read the full article click here --> https://fashionista.com/2023/01/fashion-schools-teaching-metaverse-classes 

A MoMent of Xen Interview: Metaverse and Fashion with Professor Vincent Quan   (Photo Captured from Youtube_'Bridging The Gap Between The Fashion Industry & Metaverse? ft. Joseph DeAcetis & Vincent Quan Ep94) Last week, Professor Vincent Quan went on a live interview on A MoMent of Xen that was broadcasted over iHeart Radio, YouTube, and Traverse TV. A MoMent of Xen is a weekly broadcast that talks about film, fashion, pop-culture, entertainment, and politics hosted by Xen Sams. Xen Sams is an actress, model mentor, and a media contributor who discusses such topics from the millennial mom’s perspective. In this interview, Professor Vincent Quan talked about where fashion is heading, how far it has come, and how it fits into web 3.0. He mentioned how Ralph Lauren, a fashion company, partnered with ZEPETO, a South Korean social network AR avatar app, to create a metaverse for users to dress their own avatars with products and appearances and how this novel platform both generates a huge advantage for marketing brands and creates an entirely new revenue stream through NFT into the web 3.0. The Metaverse is changing the view of fashion. Artificial Intelligence and Augmented Reality opens up opportunities for new business models in the fashion world that leverage virtual fashion targeting the wave of the future, Gen Z. Click here to watch the interview --> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvmQNoBClqc

SUNY Korea President Arthur H. Lee Meets Incheon Free Economic Zone (IFEZ) Commissioner Kim Jin Yong Discussion on exchange and cooperation plans between SUNY Korea and IFEZ Photography Courtesy: IFEZ / Left: SUNY Korea President Arthur H. Lee, Right: IFEZ Commissioner Kim Jin Yong   On Tuesday January 3rd, SUNY Korea President Arthur H. Lee visited Incheon Free Economic Zone (IFEZ) to meet Commissioner Kim Jin Yong. At the meeting, President Arthur H. Lee and Commissioner Jin Yong Kim exchanged messages of New Year greetings and well-wishing remarks, then discussed future interchange and cooperation plans between the two institutions. President Arthur H. Lee said, “Thanks to the active support and cooperation of the IFEZ, SUNY Korea celebrated its 10th anniversary last year. I would like to ask for your support for continuing SUNY Korea exchanges and cooperation in various fields to achieve the second leap forward, as well as the most successful case not only in Korea, but also in Asia.” Kim Jin Yong, Commissioner of the IFEZ said, “We succeeded in hosting the Incheon Global Campus of SUNY Korea, an American university that everyone said was impossible 10 years ago and is now considered one of the most representative successful cases. We will continue to actively support attracting outstanding foreign talents.”  

Fall 2022 Commencement Ceremony 5 Departments and 61 Graduating Students   The Fall 2022 Commencement Ceremony of SUNY Korea was celebrated on December 16th, 2022 in the IGC Auditorium. A total of 61 students from five different departments (Computer Science, Technology and Society, Mechanical Engineering, Applied Mathematics and Statistics, and Business Management) are graduating this year. Arthur H. Lee, the president of SUNY Korea, said in his message of congratulations to the graduating students, “I sincerely congratulate you on your graduation, and I am grateful to the family, professors, and staff for their support to SUNY Korea. Do not stop striving for self-development even after graduation - History Makers move forward and change the world.” Also, Dr. Imin Kao, Executive Director of SUNY Korea Academic Programs, SBU, said, “We are building a world-class university to help solve the great challenges we face in the world and we trust we are doing so by challenging you as alumni of Stony Brook, FIT, and SUNY Korea to go on and do great things - to take on great challenges and find the solutions necessary to improve the human conditions. And by doing so you'll follow in the footsteps of the many Stony Brook and FIT alumni. Graduates, you are to be recognized, celebrated and honored upon your graduation today!” SUNY Korea, established in Songdo International City, Incheon in 2012 and celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, is the first American university established in Korea. Stony Brook University and the Fashion Institute of Technology attracts and operates excellent departments. All classes are conducted in the same way as the New York campus curriculum, and graduates will receive the same degrees from Stony Brook University and Fashion Institute of Technology, respectively. State University of New York Korea offers courses in Science and Engineering and Business Administration (Computer Science, Applied Mathematics and Statistics, Mechanical Engineering, Technology Management, and Business Administration) of Stony Brook University and Art Departments (Fashion Design and Fashion Management) of Fashion Institute of Technology. It is a STEAM convergence education university. All departments at Stony Brook University, except for the Department of Business Administration, offer bachelor's, master's, and doctoral programs.

SUNY Korea Resumes Global Support Providing educational materials to rural elementary schools in Burkina Fasoㅇ          SUNY Korea donates educational equipment to Ecole A de Kougsin and Ecole B de Kougsin SUNY Korea has resumed its support for elementary schools that have been hit by COVID-19 in West Africa, to help people overcome it. SUNY Korea provided educational equipment to elementary schools located in rural areas of Burkina Faso in West Africa to overcome COVID-19 and promote education. In October, educational equipment and materials supported by SUNY Korea were delivered to Ecole A de Kougsin and Ecole B de Kougsin in Kougsin Village, located in the midwest of Burkina Faso. With this support, 581 students from Ecole A and B de Kougsin, who stopped studying due to the worsening economic and medical environment caused by COVID-19, were able to continue their studies with proper educational equipment such as textbooks and writing implements. Students from the school shared their gratitude for SUNY Korea for allowing them to take a step closer to their future dreams of becoming teachers and doctors (refer to the photos below). Ecole A de Kougsin opened in 1983 and now has 407 students and 11 teachers, and Ecole B de Kougsin opened in 2014 and has 174 students and 6 teachers. Student appreciates the donors  Arthur H. Lee, the President of SUNY Korea, said, “It is regrettable that members of SUNY Korea cannot visit and serve in person as we did before the pandemic; however, it is fortunate that students in Burkina Faso's Kougsin Village can continue their studies through this support. We will continue to devise various measures to spread the vision of SUNY Korea, Shared Prosperity, around the world, starting from developing countries." Okgon Hwang, the CEO of [더멋진세상] in Burkina Faso, Africa, said, "We appreciate the continued support of SUNY Korea even in the difficult situation of COVID-19. Next year, I hope to meet the members of SUNY Korea in person and carry out various volunteer activities." Since SUNY Korea’s opening in Korea, the university has been carrying out the ‘Global Village Hope Project’, a volunteer activity and exchange cooperation program. From October 2015 to September 2018, 'Burkina Faso's Sanogo Village Self-Reliance Support Project' helped the Burkina Faso community to grow continuously by remodeling schools, installing solar panels in homes and schools, and installing village communal mills. 7,400 people in 1,500 households benefited from this service, which was also broadcast in Korea through the ‘Finding My Friend’s House’ episode of KBS’ Documentary Sympathy in 2016. In 2019, family photo shoots, school construction and remodeling, and streetlight installation projects were promoted in the Guksaeng village of Burkina Faso with the international activity organization The Great World, receiving very good results and responses locally. SUNY Korea’s involvement this time was also decided based on this deep relationship with Burkina Faso. Burkina Faso has a land area three times larger than Korea, its total population is 22.67 million and its Gross National Income (GNI) is $860. It was a French colony until the 1950s, and gained independence after that; however, most of the people are living in poverty due to unstable political and economic conditions. In particular, there is an absolute lack of underground resources, water, and food, and the overall living environment is very poor, including a lack of an educational environment and various infrastructures. According to the 2021-2022 Human Development Index (HDI) report of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the level of advancement of Burkina Faso ranks 184 out of 191 countries, making it one of the poorest countries.    

SUNY Korea Student Ambassador Inauguration Ceremony      SUNY Korea’s student ambassadors were officially inaugurated on Wednesday, November 23. As representatives of our university for the following year, the student ambassadors will participate in various university promotional content production activities, as well as being responsible for the university introduction, admission briefing, and student activities for visitors.  Arthur H. Lee, the president of SUNY Korea, said, “It is pleasant and reassuring to meet the student ambassadors who will be the face of the school for 2023. I hope all of you will actively promote the 10th year anniversary of SUNY Korea’s various achievements.”  Hayeoung Lee (Department of Technological Systems Management), who was selected as one of the new student ambassadors, expressed the following sentiment: “First of all, I thank the university for providing this great opportunity. I want to act as a student ambassador who can provide practical information to students who are interested in our university and want to enroll.”  Prior to this ceremony, SUNY Korea held an orientation on November 3rd to prepare these students for a better performance as student ambassadors of the university. The orientation was organized by the Student Services Team, Admissions Team, External Relations Team, and the Academic Affairs Team, with each department providing explanations and answers about the role of a student ambassador.     

FIT Professor Linda Kim Participates in the 2022 International Fashion Art Biennale                                                                                  SUNY Korea FIT Professor Linda Kim participated in the 2022 International Fashion Art Biennale in Busan, Korea that was hosted by the Korea Fashion & Culture Association.  82 fashion art designers from 12 countries and 21 artists from the fields of media, installation, painting, and photography participated in this exhibition. Among the artists, Professor Linda Kim said, “I hope more platforms for artistic exchanges are also happening around the campus. To add on, I hope that not only will the excellence of Korean fashion strive, but also Korean fashion will be able to lead the world of fashion through continuous opportunities like this.”   The International Fashion Art Biennale was held from October 20th to 30th at Museum One in Busan, Korea. The theme of this exhibition, “Technique of Healing”, was prepared with the aim of healing the difficult times caused by COVID-19 with fashion art and artworks.        

Myung Oh, Honorary President & Arthur H. Lee, President   Gave Congratulatory Remarks at the 10-year Anniversary Commemoration Ceremony of IGC   “There are all kinds of thoughts running through my mind,” said Dr. Myung Oh, the Honorary President of SUNY Korea (former deputy Prime Minister) in his congratulatory speech for the 10-year anniversary of Incheon Global Campus (IGC) held on October 26th. Following on, Dr. Myung Oh emphasized the outstanding performance of IGC as he remarked that “the preparation stage for the establishment of IGC was definitely not smooth, but we were able to successfully attract and settle with 5 universities and a research center within IGC through the bold decisions and challenges for bigger goals.”   “We still need support and cooperation from many others for the bold decision of the establishment of IGC as the foundation for the development of South Korea,” requested Dr. Myung Oh.   As the first speaker of all 5 universities and a research center, SUNY Korea President Arthur H. Lee shared his impressions, saying that “SUNY Korea also celebrated its 10-year anniversary last June. I am filled with emotions as both IGC and SUNY Korea are celebrating their 10-year anniversaries together this year.”  President Lee further remarked, “We have achieved what once was believed to be impossible, and now looking back, the past years were a constant process of change and innovation. All of this was possible through close cooperation with IGC.”  As the year 2022 marks the 10-year anniversary of IGC, various events will be held from October 26th to 28th, including the Commemoration Ceremony, Panel Discussions regarding lifelong education in the IGC campus, and a Seminar on the Industry-Academia-Research Cooperation in IGC.