[Editor's Note] STMicroelectronics (ST), a global semiconductor company, held its STEM your way program at Dankook University's Jukjeon Campus on the 3rd. The participating students experienced SiC power semiconductors and IGBT modules firsthand and practiced embedded development based on STM32 alongside industry engineers, achieving significant results. Specifically, they were able to systematically understand the operating principles of MCUs and the hardware sequence setup process from start to finish, and the engineers' shared experiences in actual product development boosted their confidence in their practical work. Furthermore, ST's active support for nurturing female engineers positively influenced their career choices. We met with Sohee Park, a student in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Dankook University's College of Engineering, who participated in this event, and heard her thoughts on participating in the STEM your way program.


■ I would like to hear your motivation for participating in the STEM your way event and your overall impressions of the program.

Hello. My name is Sohee Park, and I am currently enrolled in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Dankook University.

I have always been very interested in power electronics and embedded system development, and I decided to participate in the STEM Your Way program because I thought it would be an opportunity to experience technologies used in actual industrial settings up close.

In particular, this event was truly impressive because I was able to see SIC power semiconductors and RGBT modules, which I had only encountered in school lectures, in person and directly practice the STM32-based embedded development process with current engineers.

In particular, I feel like I have gained a slightly better perspective as an aspiring engineer because I was able to clearly understand how the fields I learned in my major classes are organically connected and how they lead to actual product development.

■ I am curious about which technology or content was most impressive in the program, such as AI, Graphic, SiC+IGBT, and STM32CubeMX Hands-on, and why. I'd also like to hear specifically how the way ST engineers directly lecture and conduct practical training was helpful.

The most impressive session in this program was the STM32-based hands-on training.

As I mentioned earlier, I am interested in the field of power electronics, so I often have to implement the waveforms of the control board myself.

However, the process is often a bit complicated because there are too many registers and the sequences are too entangled. This hands-on training was really helpful because I was able to see how the MCU works and the overall hardware sequence setup flow from start to finish.

And with the help of an engineer, I was able to naturally understand the process of how the MCU is operated, not just by turning on the pins, but also by what club structure, in what order the PWM and ADC are initialized, and what effect it has on the actual output waveform.

In particular, I think I will be able to approach future board practice with more confidence since ST engineers shared their perspectives on the actual product development process.

■ The need for female talent in STEM fields is growing. As a female engineer, I'd like to hear your thoughts on how what you learned today might influence your future academic career choices.

This event once again demonstrated the need for diverse talent in the semiconductor and power electronics fields.

In particular, it was impressive to hear that global semiconductor companies such as ST are actively supporting the training of female engineers.

So, if there's an opportunity in the future, I'd like to hear from female engineers working at ST's Korean branch about their real-life experiences, discuss what kind of influences they should prepare for in their careers, and what direction they can grow in.

I think this experience has had a really positive impact on my career path, and it will be of great help in determining my future direction.