On Saturday, July 17, the electrical and computer engineering department welcomed sophomore students Donggi Lee, Eojin Jeong, Donghun Jeon, Seok Min Kang, and Younghwan Shin from the University of Utah Asia Campus in South Korea to Salt Lake City. The trip was organized to expose U Asia Campus students to ongoing undergraduate research opportunities and encourage their participation in a research area of interest.

The two-week visit was sponsored in collaboration with the U Asia Campus undergraduate research program and required that each student submit an essay detailing their experience and develop an undergraduate research plan.

For some of them, this trip solidified their current research interest and helped them clarify their goals. Other students who were unsure which avenue they wanted to pursue now have a clear path forward because of the insight and perspective this trip provided.

“Right now, I’m most interested in machine learning and artificial intelligence so being able to talk to faculty who do that was very helpful,” said Eojin Jeong. “This trip helped me define my goals and understand what I need to do as an undergraduate student to achieve them.”

During their time here, the students met with 16 faculty members and toured 13 research labs. This year’s program chair was assistant professor Tsung-Wei Huang, who hosted a one-day programming workshop.

In addition to touring the campus and amenities, the students spent three days in southern Utah exploring Arches National Park, Dead Horse Point State Park, and Goblin Valley State Park. This experience was eye-opening for many students, who stated they had never seen such an incredible and unique landscape.

U Asia Campus students now have access to baccalaureate programs in electrical engineering and computer engineering. These four-year undergraduate programs will have the same comprehensive and rigorous courses as their Utah counterparts, including classes in Electromagnetics & Transmission Lines, Embedded Systems, Engineering Probability & Statistics, and Digital System Design. Electrical and Computer Engineering Department chair Florian Solzbacher says this will be the start of a growing curricular offering in ECE at the U’s Asia Campus.

U Asia Campus students study at the Incheon Global Campus for three years before spending their final year at the Salt Lake City campus in the U.S. This program provides those students early access and insight into their education. Any U Asia Campus student enrolled in the ECE department can apply to participate in this summer program. Similarly, Salt Lake City students can also apply to spend a semester abroad at the U Asia Campus. 

As the students anticipate their return to Utah, they are most looking forward to developing their own research, reconnecting with faculty, and skiing in Utah’s snow.