BUFS Reselected for Career Semester System

Designing the future during the semester

Introducing the 'BIG ME' career system

Reporter Lee Se-mok

churrasco23@naver.com

Busan University of Foreign Studies was re-selected as a college career semester system management university by the Ministry of Education this year. Our University was first selected in 2020 and has been running courses, including courses for foreign students, for two years.

The college career semester system is a system in which students voluntarily design and conduct their own career activities during the semester and then self-evaluate them. The 'BIG ME' career system is an international name of our university. The goal of this program is to help students find and develop their paths and manage themselves in the changing society.

Students who participate in the 'BIG ME' career semester system can take time to explore their careers through career-development courses and choose which they want to participate in. There are five themes; startup, creation, research, sharing, and globalization, although students can only choose one. The 'BIG ME' career system runs for 16 weeks, following the regular semester schedule, but requires an activity report to be written every week. After all 16 weeks have been completed, students are required to submit their final results at the end to acknowledge completion of the course. Based on the final results, the students will then automatically be entered in to the 'BIG ME' contest. The contest will be graded according to the credits applied by the student. Those who participate in the contest will receive scholarships based on the highest award and through the final consultation. This is the final stage and once finished the semester will be completed. Since students are responsible for taking the lead in planning and developing their futures, the university has promised to provide any support necessary.

Students who participated in the 'BIG ME' system had positive experiences, with one student saying, “Many students are not interested in these kinds of programs, but I think more students should commit themselves to the ‘BIG ME’ course. It was a great experience and through the curriculum I had time to think about my future again”.

There are several videos on YouTube that you can watch about the 'BIG ME' curriculum and see what others achieved as their final result. There are still many other programs that students are not very aware of, so students should research about those scholarship programs and prepare for the future.