We are strengthening cooperation with Korean universities
From May 26th to 29th, the Global Capstone Design Workshop 2025 took place at the Silesian University of Technology. These are workshops that teach international cooperation in the implementation of interdisciplinary PBL projects. Students and professors from universities from Poland, Slovakia and South Korea took part in the event. On the occasion of the event, the Silesian University of Technology strengthened its cooperation with one of the universities – Sun Moon University in South Korea.
The second edition of the Global Capstone Design Workshop organized at the Silesian University of Technology is behind us. These are unique workshops organized in the Project Based Learning formula, which attract students and academic teachers from several countries, giving them the opportunity to work in international teams. This year's edition was attended by ten teams from five universities: Silesian University of Technology, Opole University of Technology, Technical University of Košice (Slovakia) and universities from South Korea (Sun Moon University, Keimyung University, Daelim University, Park Kookmin University and Chungbuk National University).
Global Capstone Design is an educational initiative that aims to develop international cooperation, work on real engineering problems and prepare students for the demands of the future labour market. The workshops are a unique opportunity to combine theory with practice – students from different countries jointly design and test innovative technological solutions that respond to current social, environmental and industrial challenges.
Work on the projects took place in several stages: from problem analysis and market research, through the design phase and prototyping, to the presentation of ready-made solutions to a group of experts and potential investors. This approach not only developed technical competences, but also strengthened interpersonal skills such as teamwork, conflict resolution and communication in a multicultural environment.
The Rector of the Silesian University of Technology, Prof. Dr Hab. Eng. Marek Pawełczyk had no doubt that such events would bear fruit in the future and are aimed in particular at broadening the competences of students.
- “We already have experience in educating through the implementation of Project Based Learning projects, but we believe that cooperation with new partners from South Korea or Slovakia and the opportunity to work in international teams will bring even better results. Thanks to this, students learn to look at problems from multiple perspectives. I am convinced that this is an attractive teaching method” – said the Rector.
Prof. Marek Pawełczyk pointed out that working in a team composed of representatives raised in different cultures allows you to look at problems from different perspectives, and the clash of different points of view can be very creative and allow you to develop even better projects and solutions.
Participating in Global Capstone Design gives students access to modern technological tools and the opportunity to establish valuable professional contacts. For many participants, it is also the first step towards an international career in engineering.
- “These workshops are really valuable because we can establish contact with other students from other countries. I must admit that the level of knowledge among Polish students is very high, thanks to which we were able to teach each other” – said Sungson Kim from Kookmin University in South Korea.
- “For example, I learned electronic technology from a Polish student, and I was able to teach 3D design technology myself” - he added.
The effects of cooperation in international teams could be seen during the competition, where the best projects were selected. The final works focused on the topic of transport and mobility of the future. Many of the proposed solutions concerned autonomous vehicles and autonomous movement. The issues concerned both the automotive and aviation industries.
The winner of the competition was the team Ctrl+Fly consisting of: Youngseok Seo, Gihyeon Lee, Junhyung Kim, Chanhee Im, Oliwier Gębczyński, Michał Kaczor, Grzegorz Paleta, Samuel Ujazda and Marcin Wojtynek. The project “Mechatronic payload drop module with implementation of AI algorithms for object detection with potential application in unmanned vehicles” was carried out under the supervision of professors: JooHoo Lee, KyungSoon Lee, Roman Czyba, Jarosław Domin and Piotr Czekalski.
The culmination of the second edition of Global Capstone Design was the exchange of signed cooperation agreements between the Silesian University of Technology and one of the Korean universities – Sun Moon University.
The cooperation will initially focus on organizing student exchanges.
- “As a university, we belong to a consortium that brings together 7 other Korean universities. We want students and professors to visit our university, and later others as well, and so that we can visit the Silesian University of Technology. Then we will implement further plans for the future, e.g. joint research and other opportunities” – said Prof. Chung Seong Lee from Sun Moon University.
The cooperation may include joint research in the automotive field. The Korean industry is very developed in this area. In addition, Asian partners want to spread cultural exchange, teach their language, and present their culture.
The signed agreement is further evidence of the increasingly broader cooperation with Korean universities. For several years now, the Silesian University of Technology has been taking action to strengthen relations with Asian partners, which resulted in the presence of representatives of universities from South Korea at workshops in Gliwice.
Fot. Maciej Mutwil, Martin Huć
