Now that my Plus3 trip has come to an end I must now reflect on what I learned both professionally and educationally during the trip so as to increase my understanding of functioning as a successful engineer in the modern landscape, both local and global. By visiting many business and local institutions on the trip I was given significant insight into how these entities operate successfully, and in what ways that differs and mirrors the environment we have back here at home.
Ethical issues in engineering are important to keep track of at all times since the work that we do impacts the safety of people all over the world, which means that failure can carry a very steep cost if incurred. When we were visiting the companies and public institutions in Korea they explained many of the processes they use to ensure both worker safety and customer security. For example TK elevator took us through their safety experience which they use to help educate and involve their employee in what’s at stake with the products they help design and develop. By using an immersive experience they help connect the individual with the potential risks and hazards, which helps enforce cautious thought patterns and safety first advancements. When we toured the facility they had some of us partake in this safety exercise which was both fun and educational. Another ethical issue that was covered during the trip was making sure to act with integrity when doing your work so that you can be sure of products you put out into the world. Some examples we saw in the companies we visited were having several levels of quality checks to make sure that the products were meeting spec at each step of the process. If defects were found they would remove them from the line and discard them.
Another positive aspect of doing Plus3 has been the increase to the breadth of my educational resources by visiting another part of the world. The different culture in Korea has been very eye opening into different aspects of the engineering profession, the varying viewpoints has allowed me to consider more possible options when looking to solve problems I encounter both in school and professionally. The process of broadening my horizons was also influenced by seeing the difference in lifestyle and attitude of the Korean citizens. Their desire to look towards a positive future of reunification with their northern neighbors is very inspiring and I think that type of attitude is worth considering in our current divided landscape back home. We should strive to come together and work towards the betterment of all, since we can only achieve the apex of our possibilities when we all can work together towards a common goal. We also learned how the development process differs in Korea both with the company’s hierarchy and production process. In Korea there is a strong belief in the nature of hierarchy and respecting your elders both in the workspace and outside it. In companies it is expected that the boss has final say on any business choices and that workers should follow those orders without fighting back against them. This has the benefit of having a clear leadership structure that can lead to efficient progress, but at the same time feedback from subordinates can lead to very positive changes and overall product improvements. I think it’s important to take some of the lessons from Korean companies while maintaining the strength of American individualism that encourages productive discourse between bosses and their employees. This can lead to reaching even greater heights and taking advantage of the benefits of both cultures.
This trip has also helped reaffirm that a life long education journey leads to improved professional skills and a more fulfilling personal life. By doing a study abroad program I have been able to partake in experiences that I wouldn’t have had the privilege of enjoying otherwise, which have allowed me to gain an even better understanding of myself as a person and an engineer. One experience that I found very enriching was the cooking class we took part in as a group. The class taught us how to make a simple Bibimbap which means mixed rice. The teacher showed us how to prepare each ingredient. They explained that when plating the ingredients it is important to have similar color ingredients opposite of each other to lend to a more harmonious dish that is more appealing, they also explained that the color of each ingredient has significance in Korean culture. Once each ingredient is cooked and plated to enjoy the meal you mix each element together in the bowl making a delicious mixture of rice, veggies, and meat. Another experience that I found very educational was when we visited the DMZ and surrounding area of South Korea. The impact of seeing just how close North Korea drove home just how fragile the freedoms we hold dear are, when a totalitarian state can be mere meters from a free nation. When we visited the DMZ we went into one of the tunnels dug by North Korean soldiers to secretly invade South Korea by bypassing the DMZ. As we went further into the tunnel it got smaller and smaller and it got to the point I had to bend myself at a right angle and shimmy forward which added to the grim nature of the tunnel that was meant to usher in North Korean troops to violently invade South Korea. Once we made it back out of the tunnel we visited the observation tower, which we couldn’t see much from due to fog but it had maps showing just how close North Korean towns were, despite feeling like they exist in a foreign world.
On the trip I learned more about how one’s social life interacted with the professional life one cultivates. I saw during the company visits coworkers enjoying conversations with each other and even spending time together outside work socially. Cultivating a sense of community in the workplace can lead to more productive environments with a greater sense of personal involvement from each employee which increases the stake they feel they have in the work they do, which can lead to even better performance in their duties. Some of the companies we visited also had rather extensive on site recreational facilities from cafes, ball courts, golf simulators, and exercise equipment which allows for employees to feel more comfortable and “at-home” in the office. Though it can be seen that some of these amenities can be used as a tool to encourage employees to stay at work for longer and longer periods which disrupts a healthy work-life balance. I think the best way to view these amenities is as a nice perk but to not let them be used as leverage to guilt employees into overworking themselves instead of prioritizing their own personal lives. It also seems important for coworkers to be able to bond together so they have the strength to stand up for what is best for them rather than individually squashed by the overwhelming might that the employers have the ability to exert over the people they employ.
The Plus3 trip has also taught me a lot about working on a multi-disciplinary team, due to the nature of the mix of business and engineering students. Due to the nature of the rigor of freshman engineering it can be hard to make connections with students in other majors at times due to how busy the classes get. This made the opportunity to spend a chunk of time with business majors a wonderful opportunity to broaden my connections and learn more about the experiences that other students have in some of the different fields. While getting to know the business students I learned about how many different subfields of business there are at Pitt between accounting, marketing, economics, etc. When working on our group projects both before and during the trip we found it beneficial to work on tasks that most suited our strengths when partitioning the tasks. This helped us accomplish the projects efficiently and to great success, which shows how when you work on a team with many different types of people/majors you are able to capitalize on their strengths and lead to even greater feats. As I move forward with my work and education I think that I will be able to utilize some of the techniques I show demonstrated by the business students and that I will try to work harder to enrich myself with a greater variety of people in my life both academically and personally.
Plus3 was an amazing experience that forged memories that will last the rest of life while teaching me innumerable things about the world and myself leading to a sense of accomplishment and self-improvement. I look forward to continuing to explore more experiences and opportunities at Pitt and beyond and I can whole heartedly say that Plus3 was a great experience worth pursuing and would highly recommend it to anyone interested in it in the future.