＜ Upgrade 01 ＞
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Tuesday, April 23, 2019 at 10 am.
Hyeon-jun, who went to school without being able to sleep properly, was still confused.
As the excited guys kept calling, Hyeonjun answered the phone nonstop.
Because of that, the tension and excitement were relieved little by little.
Even so, it was true that I still didn’t realize it.
Does anyone become so hazy when they rise to such super-wealth?
It is a feeling of realism and unreality constantly intersecting.
But that ecstasy soon subsided for a while.
I received a confirmation call from Chairman Choi Gil-ja regarding dinner tonight.
Shortly thereafter, Professor Park Yu-jin of Sunghan University called, and Hyeon-jun barely regained his reason that he had forgotten for a while.
＜88＞
“Eugene! A long time. take care?”
“Uh, just what. you?”
“Me too. Are you very busy?”
“Well, it’s a bit better now. Because it’s midterm exam period. How about you?”
“I’m a bit better too. Almost the same thing though. By the way, is there a Jeju-do society?”
“yes. But did you have a talk?”
“right. I decided to make a presentation. Did you see the schedule?”
“uh. saw. And I’ll see you then, I called with both sides to say this.”
“ah.”
Hyunjoon nodded.
Yoojin Park, Professor at Sunghan University.
They are the same age and have the same class.
She also entered elementary school at the age of 7.
In particular, after completing all of her degrees at Korea University, she took a postdoctoral course (postdoc) in the laboratory of Professor William Grossman at Stanford University.
At that time, I became close with Hyunjun.
“Oh, did you earn a lot of research funds?”
Suddenly, I remembered the time of the last national research project screening, so I asked.
At this time, a long sigh was heard.
“no. i’m dying It’s really not easy to get research funds. There are two tasks of the National Research Foundation of Korea, one responsible and one joint. If you use this and that, it seems that the cost of materials will run out soon. I need to get more, but it’s not easy.”
“Well, if it’s two research tasks, wouldn’t it be okay to run them?”
“no. It sounds full, but I’m still not satisfied. I want to recruit more graduate students. To do that, we need more research funding. So lately, I’ve been envious of humanities professors. You don’t have to earn national research funds when you produce research results. There is no need to spend research money on guidance for graduate students. Besides, how hard is it these days to settle research funds?”
“Ah, not really. Reagent name, purchase number, unit price, purchase date, inspection date, etc. You have to enter each reagent on the site. I feel like my eyes will fall out when I type that too. It’s frustrating too. Most of them are changing to electronic systems, but I don’t know why these are just manual.”
“I know. And if you make even the slightest mistake, that will be a big deal. really! Are you paying the meeting fee well?”
“uh? Meeting fee?”
Hyunjoon tilted his head.
Hyun-Jun rarely spends meeting fees among research expenses. This is because, in the early days of his appointment as professor, he advised not to spend meeting fees so that he could become professor Kim Yeon-joon, who had a huge amount of research funds from industry and universities as well as national research funds.
“Am I just not using it?”
“uh? really? Who did you hear from?”
“Just a senior professor.”
“Ah, you are doing well. Actually, the meeting fee is what you eat after the meeting. However, thanks to the Ministry of Education or whatever, that is always the item to watch out for. Because of a research project, I make time for meetings and then feed the students, but there must be an outside participant. It’s a research project meeting, so why do you need an outside participant? So you’re saying don’t keep the research project secure at all. It seems that this is completely encouraging the leaking of secrets from the state.”
“Well. I know. It doesn’t make much sense. Our country’s regulations are a bit strange. I think it’s just, invite an outside person for a seminar or consulting purpose, and then pay the meeting fee together with that person. Well, that kind of use.”
“So, if it’s in such an ambiguous state, I’d rather get rid of that item. I’m just worried because I’m there for nothing. The students are begging for dinner as they are.”
“Oh, do you often go out to dinner?”
Usually, science and engineering professors have to pay attention to the steady dinner schedule of laboratory students. In Korea, the dinner itself is a kind of mutual exchange and has the purpose of unity.
“I do. Every time I try to spend my money, it’s a bit frustrating. At one dinner party, the kids eat so well that it costs about 400,000 won or 500,000 won. Trying to get it out of Sabi every month is really hard. Our net annual salary is only about 50 million won, right?”
At that, Hyunjoon nodded again.
Today, Professor Park Yoo-jin’s complaints continued to be heard.
Well, I can’t help it because I have to talk like that to relieve stress.
In particular, since they have the same concerns, they have no choice but to understand each other well.
So, too, you become more immersed in the conversation.
“Still, aren’t there any research allowances or thesis incentives…?”
“What? Research allowance?”
“uh.”
“hey! How much is that?”
Momentarily, Hyunjoon nodded again.
Personnel costs set for each research project. Although research allowances can be set and spent within 20% of the labor cost.
A person with a high level of assignment has no choice but to get a research allowance of only a few million won a year.
As it is divided according to the contribution rate, including students, the rate of research allowance that goes back to the professor is not that high.
In addition, these days, the payment of research incentives according to professors’ thesis performance itself is disappearing from universities. It’s because of the financial crisis of the university.
In the end, the only thing left is for the professor to take care of his own internal labor costs through industry-academia research.
However, it was more difficult to receive orders for research funds for company service projects because they were centered on personal connections with company officials.
“But Hyun-juna, more than that… these days, there’s a lot more fuss about raising the regulations for promotion to the professor position. It seems that the number of papers will also increase. They said they wouldn’t let anyone get a tenure. In order for our school to pass the tenure screening, it must receive written approval from at least a major scholar at the editor level of an international journal. I really want to die.”
With that in mind, the current professors society is entering an era of fierce competition. Professors who became full professors long ago may be a bit relaxed. Young professors are bound to be very busy.
Research, administration, education, external research grants, conference activities, external activities, etc.
At this time, the university professor may point out why you are wasting that precious time doing conference activities or external activities. That, too, had its own reasons.
In other words, it is possible to receive various research funds only through academic activities and external activities.
Korean society where everything revolves around human networks.
Since the major professors of the academic society act as judges or chairpersons in each research grant review, they have no choice but to bend their arms inward at all times.
And college too!
Universities these days are unable to further increase their tuition revenues because of past half-price tuition crises. Of course, there are a few universities with a lot of college reserves. Most of the other universities became very impoverished at one point.
At 7 p.m., even schools have to turn off the lights in most of the school buildings to save on electricity bills. In some schools, professors’ salaries are returned. There are many places where the rate of increase in the salary of professors has reached zero in about 10 years. In the end, school financial returns should increase in line with inflation, but private universities, excluding national universities, do not receive so much government support, so such things happen.
Of course, saving is also a good way.
The annual salary of a full-time professor should be around 50 million won.
But if that’s the case, who really wants to become a university professor?
In a capitalist society, Korea’s national research power, which has been the most fundamental, will quickly run out.
In particular, in the case of science and engineering, if the ability of university professors to deal with advanced science is poor, graduate students who will become researchers in the future will follow a similar path.
Of course, that wouldn’t happen if the state gave enough college support. Currently, the way the government pays support funds to universities such as private universities has largely changed to the public offering method. It is also true that it has become more difficult for universities to receive support funds as there are many secondary requirements.
At this time, the university headquarters has no choice but to fill out various applications and submit them to the government. After that, subjective (?) and objective evaluations are conducted, and government subsidies are received.
Even at this time, the external role of university professors is quite important. This is because even when conducting various educational projects required by the government, there are quite a lot of things to be done outside the university, that is, in the suburbs, rather than what can be done on campus.
“Oh, Hyun Joon. You didn’t join the writing team at the university headquarters, did you?”
“uh? The writing team?”
“Is there something like LINC or something like this?”
“Oh, no. I am still.”
“Envy you. I was called there in January and February and suffered quite a bit. Meetings are held for 6 hours a day every week, and you have to write this and that like homework, and you also get harsh criticism from the person in charge. I would just die of boredom. In addition, they said that the performance was not enough, and they were asked to make additional industry-university MOU results, so they went around asking around in search of companies… Phew! I thought you were going to die.”
In fact, for the industry-academy cooperation education and research that the government wants these days, science and engineering professors, including medicine and pharmacy, have to go to each company and ask for it.
Establishment of student internship courses, requests for lectures on industry-academia cooperation, etc.
So, to make those things a little more comfortable, I sometimes invite corporate executives to the school.
Even when such people come to school, most of them do not adapt well to the school system and often leave within a few years.
Of course, outsiders call themselves professors, but most of them are non-tenured professors like part-time lecturers.
“hey! Eugene! Anyway, let’s do our best. A full professor would be better.”
“I know. So, when I become a full professor, I will stop researching.”
“uh? why? Why are you quitting your studies?”
“I’m just thinking about starting a company. Oh, you said you were already at work?”
At that moment, Hyeonjun was a little surprised.
“Hey, but how did you know that?”
The establishment of Hyun-jun’s company, Farm Blockbuster Inc, is a story that only professors in the school know about.
Hyeon-jun, who had never told Professor Park Yu-jin such a story, was curious and asked.
She answered simply.
“There are quite a few big mice in your department too.”
“ah.”
Hyunjoon nodded.
