AKCSE Competition Bridges Cultures and Generations

On March 19^th, nine science and engineering undergraduate students from UBC gathered at the UBC Forest Sciences Centre for the first annual Research Competition hosted by the Association of Korean-Canadian Scientists and Engineers (AKCSE). After months of conducting research and polishing results– between classes and coffee breaks, these young students had the opportunity to present their projects before a well attended crowd of other students, while a panel of expert judges and invited researchers looked on.

AKCSE is a non-profit national-level organization, with chapters in nearly every province. By initiating this research competition, AKCSE aims to further develop BC’s research community and foster Canadian-Korean scientists and engineers to their full career potential. TRIUMF sponsored this research competition through a financial contribution.

In January, the AKCSE committee accepted written applications from students who conducted research on a topic of their choice. After preliminary judging, five finalists from 20 submissions – some individually and others in collaborations, were chosen to present before a panel of judges at Friday’s competition. 

Among the panel of judges sat TRIUMF Senior Researcher Dr. Ewart Blackmore.  “We were amazed at the quality of these undergraduate students presentations, both in their understanding of their selected topics and in their audiovisual aids,” said Ewart.

Based on their oral presentation, the judging panel decided first, second, and third place who received $1000, $500, and $300 respectively.