POSTECH: POSTECH Holds the Commencement Ceremony for 2020 Academic Year

The commencement ceremony for 2020 academic year was held at the POSTECH central square on May 14, 2021. It had been postponed to May due to the spread of COVID-19 and was held as a reduced in-person event to limit the number of attendees to less than 100. The ceremony was streamed live on POSTECH’s YouTube channel.

POSTECH conferred a total of 741 degrees in the 2020 academic year, including 316 bachelor’s, 193 master’s, and 232 doctoral degrees. But only 81 graduates attended the ceremony including 51 graduates who represented each department and 30 graduates who were selected by lottery.

Only a minimum number of officials and staff participated in the ceremony including President Moo Hwan Kim, Dean of Graduate School Kun-Hong Lee, and Vice President of Academic Affairs Gyoo Yeol Jung, making the total number of attendees at 90.

In consideration of the COVID-19 regulations and safety of all attendees, the event strictly complied with all COVID-19 prevention regulations. All speeches were replaced with a letter.

The commencement ceremony was made special by sending a package to the graduates that includes a letter from President Moo Hwan Kim, the complimentary address of Chairman of POSTECH Foundation Jeong-Woo Choi, and a souvenir. This was to comfort the graduates in having to say their goodbyes to campus through the YouTube live stream, instead of attending the ceremony in person.

Through the letter sent to the graduates, President Moo Hwan Kim shared the disappointment in having to hold a limited in-person commencement ceremony. Explaining the meaning of the souvenir pen sent to the graduates with the letter, he encouraged them to “to draw an arc of the moral universe through science, and to make the nation and world more just through the education they have received at POSTECH.”