From February 19 to 21, KAIST hosted a free meeting of students from the Asian Science and Technology Pioneering Institutes of Research of Education (ASPIRE) League, composed of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, KAIST, Nanyang Technological University, Tsinghua University, and Tokyo Institute of Technology. The meeting discussed the possibility of an intercollegiate event, yet only referred to as the “e-Olympics,” consisting of both competitive and non-competitive content. The event is prospected by the league members to become a renowned competition within the Asian college circles.

 

▲ ASPIRE League members discussed the possibility of an intercollegiate event
The meeting was held under the supervision of the KAIST Student Council’s Bureau of International Relations with participation by Imagination Effect, the KAIST Events Preparation Committee. As the hosting institution, KAIST also provided all participating students accommodations and a tour of Seoul. There were a total of 10 members, two from each participating college, and the discussion was preceded by a friendly exchange of small gifts originating from respective colleges and cultures.
Based in Tokyo Institute of Technology, ASPIRE is currently planning the event to be exclusive to member colleges, while the future possibility of accepting other colleges into the league remains. While KAIST pursued for more competitive events, Tsinghua University emphasized harmony among the colleges and their students. Despite the difference in emphasis, the general consensus was that the exchange be most importantly academic. Additionally, publicizing the event was an important issue in order to parallel the competitions held by foreign intercollegiate leagues.
The discussion determined that the e-Olympics would most likely take place for a week or less towards the end of summer leave when most students are on break, and consist of rounds relevant to clubs common to the league colleges. Also, the number of participants will start around 20 to fit accommodations and possibly grow when the event becomes popular. The schedule will focus the competitive events towards the first half of the stay, with the last one or two days left for city tours and cultural exchange. The promotion is planned to happen through attaining sponsors for each college teams and publishing an annual magazine of the contemporary year’s events.
The discussion members see this event as a positive sign of intercollegiate bonding and expect the undergraduates to become more cooperative in both social and academic events in response to the friendly competition; however, little is determined as of yet, despite the discussion efforts, as the final decisions are yet to be made by the board members of the executive professors in ASPIRE and student councils in the respective universities.
Copyright © The KAIST Herald Unauthorized reproduction, redistribution prohibited