The long chilly winter has finally gone, and spring has already arrived at CBNU. In 2020, new freshmen entered our university and they are buoyed up by the new and exciting prospect of campus life. We, the students and staff wish each one of you a very warm welcome! Freshmen are usually very curious about campus life, but it might be hard to get useful information. Therefore, CBT is going to introduce all kinds of useful and practical information about a variety of aspects relating to campus life. One good piece of advice is to regularly refer to the freshmen bulletin board ‘Every time’ on the University website. CBNU consists of 75 departments, and about 18,000 students with an estimated 1,400 foreign students from 41 countries attending. It is fair to say that this is a place where various opportunities and chances to improve yourself abound.
  First, many freshmen don’t know how to spend the free time between classes, and most will simply wander the campus with no purpose. One good option is going to the lecture room in advance or studying in the library. However, for freshmen who want to meet various people and want to do something interesting, CBT strongly recommends signing up for one of the many school clubs, because club members have access to comfortable club rooms where they can spend free time. At the end of March, various clubs are going to recruit new members in front of the school library. CBNU has 56 clubs, including volunteering clubs, sports clubs, religious clubs, dance clubs, and so on. CBT hopes students don’t miss the opportunity and wish they spend time with various people while sharing their hobbies with others. Similarly, like club rooms, each department has its department room. Visiting the department room would be another good choice for the freshmen. There, students can share useful information with seniors and fellow students. Moreover, CBNU runs films every Wednesday in the new library, and students can borrow a DVD to watch with friends on the third floor of the library.
  Second, many freshmen are concerned about what and where they would eat. Dormitory students may enjoy all their meals in the dormitory cafeteria, and for day students, our school offers meals at the New Student Center. On the first floor, students have a wide variety to choose from and the second floor is the buffet cafeteria. The price varies from 2,000 to 5,500 won. CBT recommends joining a CBNU consumer cooperative which has many benefits. Members of the cooperative can use the school cafeteria and cafés at a cheaper price. There is a variety of other, cafes and cafeterias on campus. Also note that many students sometime opt to eat alone in the cafeteria, so freshmen don’t have to worry or feel embarrassed, about eating alone. There is also a bunch of great and affordable fast food spots and restaurants just off campus near the middle gate. This area is known as Jungmun, where many students prefer to meet friends for lunch or in the evening.
  Third, it is not uncommon for freshmen, after a few weeks of study, to feel that their major is not really suited to themselves. Moreover, some students might want to learn more in other fields. For those freshmen, CBNU offers a diverse educational opportunity in the form of changing their major, minor-major, linked major, double major, course of teacher education and so on. A linked major is the linkage of three or more departments since those departments can overcome the limits of one department and foster human resources with integrated thinking. Particularly, CBNU has various and helpful linked majors, for instance, security information, big data, public data science, and smart automobile engineering. CBT recommends students look closely at the explanations which are on the homepage of the CBNU Creative Fusion Education Office. It is possible to apply for a linked major, minor-major and double major at the end of each semester. You should note, however, that there are some necessary qualifications to apply. Especially, a student who wants to change departments needs high grades, because the competition of transferring to popular majors is very fierce.
  Lastly, CBT is going to introduce useful and various activities for freshmen. Usually, many freshmen miss the chance to participate in useful activities because of a lack of information. Therefore, we would like to urge you to keep an eye out for important and interesting information advertised on banners and published on pamphlets on numerous school boards in buildings and on campus. Also, each department can guide their students to some beneficial activities. Also, most of the recruiting advertisements which randomly come up by chance are posted on the school homepage and the application ‘Campus Pick.’ Therefore, CBT strongly recommends students to check the school notice board and aforementioned app often. The school’s online notice board is also the best place for getting important and useful information such as scholarships and external and internal activities. Qualification requirements differ from activity to activity, so it would be good to prepare in advance. While participating in school activities you can meet various people, and experience will become a greatan asset in future. Among the wide variety of activities, CBT strongly recommends CBNU honorary ambassadors (Ha-eul), CBNU admissions ambassadors, volunteer scholarship students, and CBNU reporters. There are too many benefits to mention, so don’t miss this golden opportunity. Also, our school is proud to be as a software centered university, therefore, CBNU is investing lots of money in SW education. The CBNU Engineering Education Innovation Center organizes various programs and supports a variety of activities such as engineering concerts, algorithm competitions, 3D print education, and drone soccer. Participating in these activities would offer a great opportunity to learn SW capabilities.

By Baek Han-na
backna@cbnu.ac.kr