The Global Challenger Program is a student competency development program conducted abroad to improve the international competitiveness of undergraduates at CALS. Participants form a team of two or more people and receive a subsidy of 2 million won to 4 million won per team to explore overseas agricultural-related institutions and sites during the vacation. Earlier this year, I met Lee Da-yeon, a 21st grader majoring in crop life science at the Department of Plant Production Science, Kim Hee-eun, and Shin Ji-yoon, who finished the Global Challenger Program under the theme of climate smart agriculture in Illinois.

1. What motivated you to participate in the Global Challenger Program?

I had a craving for overseas travel because I couldn't travel abroad for a while due to COVID-19, and I wanted to gain various experiences with my friends. Just in time, I got to know the Global Challenger Program, so I got together with friends who have the same intention and participated together.

2. Please tell me about the preparation process for participating in the program and being selected.

Contact was the most difficult during the document preparation process. We had to contact overseas professors, institutions, and universities that we wanted to explore through the program. So we got a lot of help as a way to visit the professors at the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and ask for advice directly. Professor Ahn Tae-in, majoring in horticultural biotechnology, helped us establish our team's theme as 'climate smart agriculture'. I also visited Professor Kim Do-soon and Professor Kim Hyung-seok, majoring in crop life science, and received a lot of help. At first, we sent as many contact emails to various organizations as possible, but after receiving help from the professor, we were able to set a clear contact direction and prove to those in the area that we were undergraduates of Seoul National University.

After submitting the document, there was an interview screening. What was pointed out in the interview was that we did not properly consider the size of the U.S. territory. The successful contacts were scattered across Arkansas, Tennessee, and Illinois, so it was practically not easy to visit. In the meantime, a total of four teams were interviewed, and opinions were divided among the judges, so all four teams were re-examined. I was told to revise the plan so that it could be realized before the re-examination, so I prepared it again. At this time, Professor Kim Hyung-seok helped me a lot. Many institutions in Illinois have become contacts and have revised their plans to visit only Illinois, focusing on the University of Illinois. As a result of planning and revising with the help of so many people, I was able to get a good evaluation in the re-examination and finally pass.

3-1. What agricultural institutions have you visited?

First, we conducted two interviews before leaving the country. In an interview with John Dere, the world's largest agricultural machinery company, we heard about CSA technology, marketing, and the direction of agriculture due to the climate crisis. And I had a face-to-face interview with Lee Seung-joon, a researcher who obtained a master's degree from Seoul National University and is currently conducting a doctorate program at Cornell University. I was able to gain basic knowledge of CSA.
After leaving the country, I visited the University of Illinois first. Professor Dokyung Lee and the researchers at Prairie & bioenergy lab thankfully conducted a mini-seminar for us to hear more about what's going on in the lab. After that, I was able to explore the fields of greenhouses, Energy Farm, and ARPA-E Farm, and see and listen to technologies such as agrivoltaic and SoyFACE firsthand.

3-2. What impressed you the most during the tour?

The most impressive thing was the vast farm and advanced agricultural system in the United States. It was nice to be able to walk directly on a vast area of farms in the United States. It was also meaningful to see machines capable of remote sensing, including drones and spider cameras. It was also impressive to see the sheath crops grown and used in personally. The reason why sheath crops are actively studied is because of the eutrophication of rivers due to the use of nitrogen fertilizers, and I could feel that nitrogen fertilizers have a harmful effect on the environment. Our original goal was to think about how to apply CAS agriculture in the U.S. to Korea, but after the tour, we concluded that we should find our own strategy rather than applying local technology because the climate, equipment, and fields are different.

4. What challenges did you have locally?

Communication was difficult and I missed Korean food, but it was especially hard to adjust to the time difference. But most of all, it was a pity that we didn't learn much because of our lack of knowledge. I felt desperately that I could see as much as I knew. If I had learned a lot in advance, I thought I could have asked more questions and learned more locally. This disappointment motivated me to live hard in the third grade.

5. What changes have you experienced since joining the program?

Lee Da-yeon: I felt a big change after the program and I am still implementing the change. Through this program, I was able to gain a challenging mind of 'let's do it first'. I realized that once you start, you'll get a lot of opportunities without thinking about it, 'I want to do it now, so let's do it." So I am currently doing a lab internship at Professor Kim Hyung-seok's crop production environment and sustainability lab, and I contacted the professor right away without worrying about applying.

Kim Hee-eun: Personally, I had a hard time academically in the second semester of last year. While preparing for this program, I was motivated to think that even if I fail this challenge, there will be something to learn, and that I will be able to find a direction to move forward through it. In the past, it was hard to think about the future, but now it seems more natural to plan the future with an enterprising mind than before. In addition, when preparing for the program, I was worried that my team members would be able to return safely without arguing, but rather, as we relied on each other in other countries, our friendship became stronger.

Shin Ji-yoon: After the program, I became interested in soil continuously, and I also participated in this student creativity study with a related topic. When I came back from the U.S. and was struggling, Dayeon gave me advice to try it if it's something I'm interested in now, and this has become my motto. But most of all, I think the most meaningful thing I've gained through the Global Challenger Program is my friendship that can't be exchanged for anything.

6. Say something to students who are thinking about participating

I'd like to tell you not to worry and try. Just do it!