By Kim Ji-young
Ewha’sCollege of Engineering, founded in 1996 as the first engineering college at a women’s university, celebrated its 10th anniversary in a commemorative ceremony held in the Engineering Building (Asan Hall) on September 25. President Lee Bae-yong, Dean of the College of Engineering Shin Yeong-soo (Architecture) and about 300 professors, students, and alumnae participated in three days of special lectures and events that followed the ceremony on September 25 to 27.
The College of Engineering started with the separation of four departments from the College of Natural Sciences to meet the domestic demand for highly educated women engineers: Computer Science and Engineering, Information Electronics Engineering, Architecture, and Environmental Science and Engineering. “Ten years ago, only a small number of female students had an interest in engineering so there were hardly any women students majoring in engineering. I think establishing the College of Engineering at Ewha awakened students throughout the country to the possibility and necessity of educating women engineers,” said Professor Shin.
In recent ten years, the College of Engineering has had many successes. Most notably, some engineering projects have been chosen as BK21 projects, and been granted research scholarship by the government for seven years.
After the Department of Food Science and Technology was established on May 25 this year, the College of Engineering was enlarged to three divisions and six departments. Now it includes the Division of Information Communication Engineering, which consists of a Computer Science and Engineering major and an Information Electronics Engineering major; the Division of Architecture, which is divided into Architectural Design and Architectural Engineering major; and the Division of Environmental and Food Technology, which is composed of an Environmental Science and Engineering major and a Food Science and Technology major.
The College also established a Center for Engineering Education Innovation this year to develop various engineering education systems and take in charge of related affairs. Six departments were accredited by the Engineering Education Certification Program (EECP) from Accreditation Board for Engineering Education of Korea in March. Students who complete the EECP curriculum have the potential to become outstanding engineers, as they have shown both creative and practical problem solving abilities. Moreover, many companies including Samsung Electronics give additional credit on job application to applicants who have finished the EECP curriculum.
“Although the history of the College of Engineering is short, the quality level of Ewha’s engineering education is verified by this accreditation,” said Professor Shin. “The distinct nature of Ewha’s engineering curriculum is that we emphasize the feminine sides of engineering technology: “high-tech,” which requires sensitive ideas and “well-being” concept, which is directly connected with women’s interests. Therefore, our students can easily adapt to and survive in various engineering fields.”
About 1,080 undergraduates and 150 graduates are now studying in the College of Engineering, and about 2,512 women engineers have been produced. The College of Engineering is planning to build a second engineering building next to the present one to provide more research space to future students.
cherrypr15@ewhain.net
