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Field Trip Note – Career Design in Civil and Environmental Engineering

• • Hello, I am Jisun Lee, and I am in my third year in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE).
    
    
  • Last fall semester, I took <Career Design in Civil and Environmental Engineering> class with other students in the department. Normal class meetings were held via Zoom, but we also had three offline field trips to visit facilities related to possible career paths for a CEE student. Personally, as a student who entered the department after COVID forced all classes to migrate online, the course was a great opportunity for me to explore career options in the field as well as interact with other people in the department. I was very excited to hear that the class will be having in-person field trips. The field trips took place on Fridays, and students took a bus that the department rented for us and had meals together with the professors at the field trip site.
    
    
  • Our first trip was to a wastewater treatment plant in Pyeongtaek city. For about two hours, the students were shown around the facility. Students were shown how household wastewater was purified as it goes through physical, chemical, and biological treatment processes. One of the biggest drawbacks of online classes is that we don’t get the chance to actually see what we learned in class in a real facility, but this career design course allowed us to experience what it is like in the actual treatment plant.
    
    
  • The second field trip was to Sejong city. In the morning, the class visited the Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements (KRIHS). KRIHS conducts long-term research on urban and regional planning policies. The students heard a brief introduction of the research center and had the chance to ask questions to the employees, such as what’s the difference of research in a government research center versus a private company. It was an interesting chance to see how what we learn in CEE can be related to governmental policies. After the introduction session, the students were given a chance to look around the building.
    
    
  • After lunch together, we visited an urban data management center in Sejong city. The center is part of Sejong city’s smart city project, and students were able to learn about how the center utilizes traffic big data that is generated in the city to enhance security and ensure citizen’s safety. Students also learned how they use CCTVs to monitor the city area and respond quickly to emergency situations.
    
    
  • The last trip was to Paju city to visit Han River tunnel exhibition center. Han River tunnel is the first underwater tunnel beneath Han River and the biggest shield TBM tunnel in Korea. Students watched a video explaining how the tunnel was built with shield TBM, and the center had a miniature shield TBM model so that the visitors could see how it works. There were also VR games to see how it is like to be inside the shield TBM. The employees were very kind and open to answer questions.
    
    
  • The class gave us the opportunity to visit possible workplaces for CEE students. Students could hear advices from current employees and ask questions about the workplace. It was also a chance to picture where our current education could lead us in the future, and it helped me think about what kind of work I might want to do in the future. Most importantly, it was a very fun getaway from studies and visit places outside the school with other friends in CEE. Being able to interact with other students and professors during the trip was probably the best part :> I hope there are more field trip opportunities for CEE students in the future, too!