My scholarship journey at Dongseo University, Busan, South Korea

Hello, this is Md Saif Islam, I am a student from the department of Software Engineering at Daffodil International University. I was awarded with Korean Government Scholarship Program (KGSP), a fully funded scholarship, under the Korean Government, for fall 2019 in Dongseo University (DSU), Busan, South Korea. It is my pleasure to write something about this program, because I found myself with a new lifestyle and good attitude that helps me to grow my career one more step up. It was a totally new experience for me to travel an entire new country with different culture and different people. The main thing I learnt from this scholarship how to cope with others nation under a shade and make new friends. I also have good memories from my professors in Korea. They were too friendly and helpful to me. Their teaching technique, lab facilities and study environment were too digitized.

People always said that you have to think out of the box. But I think it is necessary to visit different countries first to expand your thoughts for thinking out of the box. That’s how I felt during the scholarship period till now and I think I can keep this attitude for the rest of my life. Scholarship is the best option for a student to find new challenges by visiting different countries in the world. Daffodil International University is the place where you can find different scholarship opportunities from different countries. All the scholarship news and updates in DIU are managed by International Affairs office.

To get a scholarship and go abroad university is a kind of dream of mine. From the first semester of my academic life I was seeking for this opportunity. Previously, I tried for CCI scholarship which was a 1-year academic scholarship program under the USA government. But at that time I was not selected. After that I was looking for another opportunity and luckily, I found a notice from International Affairs office of DIU about this Korean government scholarship from DSU and I applied for it. After that, I was finally selected by the Korean government to pursue one semester under the Korean government. So, I immediately applied for the visa and left Dhaka on 11th September, 2019 to my destination.

Life at my new university in Busan was completely different from my regular life. From the first day of my scholarship journey I was exploring everything’s as a new comer because this was my first trip abroad. Their education system and other things were too digitized. But I am personally thankful to Mr. Leo choi from the international exchange center of Dongseo University. From the beginning to till the last day he guided me about each and every step.

I was lucky to participate in the 3 day long International Camp 2019 which was hosted by Dongseo University. In the international camp, there were a total of 10 teams from different sectors like, urban reconnaissance, cultural activities, rural development and exploring Busan. We were visiting Hyundai motor company and different places in Busan. It was a great experience for me because in the international camp I was the only Bangladeshi and I had the chance to cooperate with them in different places. I was also learning Korean language at my university.

Apart from the university activities, I was visiting many places and gathered experience about Korean culture, their lifestyle, food etc. Korean people are very helpful and kind to others. I would like to inspire my fellows to apply for this sort of program.