TWO students from the University of the Philippine Visayas qualified for online programs offered by prestigious universities in Korea, Taiwan and Romania.

Primitivo Galan Jr., a BS Chemical Engineering student, attended the Online Summer School of Kyungpook National University in South Korea.

Through the online summer school, Galan said that he gained a deeper understanding of Korean culture and language through cultural sharing and the Hangul class.

“What I loved most about the whole experience is that we all learned together as we get to communicate with our group and our Korean peers each day. The group where I belonged was composed of students from Czech Republic, Croatia, America, Korea, Poland, and China. Being the sole Filipino participant, I had the chance to be exposed to their culture as well,” Galan said.

BS Public Health student Xzyla Randielli Regalado, meanwhile, participated in the program of National Cheng Kung University that focused on the industry, innovation, infrastructures, sustainable cities and energy.

Regalado said a crash course on the Chinese language and workshops on improving presentation, leadership, sustainable projects, management skills and proposal writing skills were also included in the program.

“Developed countries tend to focus more on infrastructures (sustainable cities and the likes). In contrast, developing countries like the Philippines focus on addressing poverty, zero hunger, clean water, and sanitation,” she said.

At the end of summer school, her team received the “Most Creative Solution” award from among the group presentations.

Similarly, she was able to experience the Late Summer School of West University of Timisoara in Romania.

As a public health student, Regalado took Biochemistry Aspects in Various Medical Conditions from among the program offered.

“It helped me understand how biochemistry is always involved when studying diseases. We got to meet doctors and health care workers and talk to them about diseases. They had patients who were willing to show us their conditions and the treatments they undergo,” she said.