The Chongqing KAIST International Program has achieved great progress since its launching on Sept 14, 2015 at the Longxing Industrial Area in Liangjiang New Area.

The program is jointly sponsored by KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology) and Chongqing University of Technology.

The KASIST International Program adopts English as the teaching language. At the beginning, many students thought it very difficult to adapt.

The program offered TOEFL training on evenings and weekends for one semester. In addition, students were allocated with specific English tutors for one-on-one training every week. The average score of students increased by 28 points.

The program offers two majors, computer science and electronic information. Apart from the professional courses, the program also incorporates advanced mathematics and physics as general courses. Each major is divided into two classes, each having fewer than 25 students.

The small scale classes enable students to have deep exchanges with teachers. Take oral English lessons as an example. Each class is divided into three groups with each group having only six to seven students. This means each student can get customized guidance from the native English teachers.

"I think students at the KAIST program are very smart, hardworking. This can be shown through their great improvement in English," said Professor Lee Slater, from UK.

"I couldn’t understand the tutor on the first lesson. I was very shy to speak to tutors. With one semester’s efforts, I now have no difficulty understanding the teachers or speaking with them," said Nie Yujia, a student from the program.

The program has different assessment methods from traditional Chinese universities. The final exam is only a small part of the total score. The score is a comprehensive one based on the students’ performance in class, assignments, daily communication and comprehensive quality improvement.

In the Guide to Programming course, the Korean professors allocate lab lessons to help students learn how to use programming apart from traditional lecturing.

"The professor will not teach during the whole design process. We have to learn by ourselves on the internet," said Nie Yujia.

"We are not only finishing an assignment but showing our creativity during the design assignment," Nie went on to say.

The tuition fee for the program is 28,000 yuan per year. Students get the same teaching resources as KAIST students without going to Korea in person.

Currently, three Korean professors teach in Chongqing. With the expansion of courses, more professors will come to Chongqing to cultivate high-end professionals in electronic information engineering and computer sciences.

"We adopt the same teaching method here as we do in Korea. I was impressed with the diligent, hardworking Chinese students. Though I speak a different language from the students, we have no difficulty communicating with each other," said Professor Zheng, from Korea.