[Editor's Note] Recently, the e4ds Electrical and Electronic Lifelong Education Center held the '2025 Advanced Engineer Practical Master Class' as an offline course. Targeting current developers who have completed the intermediate course and engineers with practical experience in circuit design, this course covers advanced topics in electronic circuit design and real-world problems in precision measurement environments. Accordingly, we interviewed Professor Cho Seong-jae of the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Shinhan University, who is teaching this course, to learn about the course's direction and engineering education. This interview will be published in a six-part series.


I want to provide education that goes beyond the limitations of textbooks through experiments and practical training.

Professor Cho Seong-jae, who worked at Samsung Electronics for 10 years and at Shinhan University for 32 years and is currently serving as an emeritus professor, pointed out the limitations of electronic engineering education and explained the reason for establishing intermediate and advanced courses based on field experience.

In this interview, Professor Cho Seong-jae emphasizes an education that goes beyond the simple transmission of theory, enabling students to realize the essence of electronics through actual circuit experiments and intuitive interpretation.

Regarding this intermediate course, he explained, “It is a process of directly verifying through practice what problems the design methods learned in school can actually cause and how to solve them.”

Professor Cho Seong-jae cited practical training on transistors, FETs, diodes, and photocouplers as the first step of the curriculum.

He said, “Everyone knows that transistors simply perform a switching function, but they are not well aware of the issue of improving switching speed,” adding, “Even with the same component, the speed varies depending on the design method, and sometimes the component can even be damaged.”

In particular, he places great importance on the process of directly measuring and verifying the cause of part failure.

Damage occurs when voltages or currents flow that we do not expect; while current is difficult to measure, voltage can be verified even with basic equipment. He emphasized, "You can definitely understand it by seeing it with your own eyes through practice."

Regarding photocouplers, he stated that one should not only look at the general 'operating state' but also pay attention to damage occurring in the off state.

"Whether it is a transistor, a photocoupler, or a diode, damage often occurs when it is turned off. I want to explain that process," he added.

Professor Cho Seong-jae mentioned the NE555 timer as something that students might find puzzling.

“In school, we are taught that the duty cycle of a timer always exceeds 50%. However, depending on the design, the duty cycle can be freely adjusted from 10% to 90%,” he said. “In this intermediate course, I added a simple timer circuit to explain that method.”

This is an example that goes beyond simple theory and demonstrates how timers can be utilized in actual design and applications.

He said, “I want to help students discover new possibilities beyond the knowledge they have already learned.”

Professor Jo's training is conducted using basic equipment commonly used in the development lab, rather than specialized equipment.

These include oscilloscopes, signal generators, power supplies, breadboards, digital multimeters, etc.

He explained, “These are devices that anyone who majored in electrical engineering has handled. It might be a little difficult at first, but since most of them are similar, you will get used to them quickly.”

He believes that this approach fosters practical problem-solving skills in students.

Professor Cho Seong-jae said, “It is natural to act as learned in school.” "However, it is important to directly identify and resolve problems that arise in unexpected situations," he said.

Professor Cho Seong-jae emphasized intuitive circuit analysis methods in this training course.

Professor Cho Seong-jae described this as a “groundbreaking method,” explaining that “problems can be solved intuitively even without systematic technical documentation.”

In fact, Professor Cho Seong-jae has solved many problems using this method, adding, “The fact that I don’t receive any contact after it is resolved is proof that it was effective.”

Professor Cho Seong-jae's educational philosophy is clear.

It is to enable students to realize things for themselves through experiments and practical training.

Professor Cho Seong-jae said, “It is important not to simply convey what is written in textbooks, but to let students experience firsthand why things must be done that way and what problems arise if they are not.”

Professor Cho Seong-jae believes that the insights students gain through practical training go beyond the mere transmission of knowledge and lead to the ability to solve problems in real-world situations.

“You will definitely understand it once you do the practical work. That experience will be the students’ greatest asset,” he emphasized.