How 5 Samsung Corporate Citizenship Program Participants Transformed Their Dreams Into Reality

It’s no exaggeration to say that societal changes for a better tomorrow come about by nurturing the potential of youth. In order to make this happen, Samsung Electronics operates its global Corporate Citizenship program, Samsung Solve for Tomorrow, Samsung Innovation Campus (SIC) to help young people across the world develop their ideas and solve issues, while also providing support in the form of job opportunities in future technology fields.

Samsung Solve for Tomorrow and the Samsung Innovation Campus not only help students across the world – including in the U.K., Vietnam and Turkey – gain more advantages in terms of job opportunities and career paths, but they also combine the efforts of participants in order to harness their skills and solve social issues. Samsung Newsroom heard from some of the young people who are creating a better future through Samsung’s programs.

Alec Conway’s Project Dignity Digital Lockers Help the Homeless Reintegrate Into Society

Samsung Solve for Tomorrow is an education program in which young people utilize their knowledge of science, technology, engineering and math to solve regional issues and further develop their problem-solving skills. The program, which began in the U.S. in 2010, is now present in more than 30 countries. It is comprised of three steps: identifying an issue, coming up with a solution and making that idea a reality. Samsung employees act as mentors for participating teams, providing them with support throughout the process. The winning team is chosen based on contestants’ presentations and the final products.

Through Samsung Solve for Tomorrow, Alec Conway from the U.K. not only developed a novel idea, but also grew his idea into a business proposition. While traveling around Europe, he observed many homeless people carrying their possessions around. He realized that having a place to store their possessions would offer them more independence and opportunities. With this idea, he created Project Dignity and entered the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow program.

Alec designed a type of digital locker that not only offers a secure storage solution for homeless people, but also provides them with vital information such as maps, accommodations and details on food accessibility through a digital screen that’s built into the locker. Each locker also works as a PO box, providing the user with a permanent address with which they can receive support regarding employment, healthcare and tasks like opening a bank account. While participating in Samsung Solve for Tomorrow, Alec received advice from Samsung employee mentors, and eventually took home the top prize. Alec is now working closely with Digital Catapult, a technology innovation center in the U.K., and is exploring partnerships to develop a functioning prototype of his digital locker.

Vietnamese Students’ IoT Device Trap Pests Using Solar Energy

Samsung Solve for Tomorrow offers an opportunity for students like Le Hang, Tuong Vy and Tuyet Nhi of Vietnam to unleash their potential and creativity using science and technology. The trio won Vietnam’s second edition of Samsung Solve for Tomorrow by developing equipment that allows local farmers to enhance productivity by streamlining how they trap pests.

The idea came to the students after they noticed just how often farmers have to enter hazardous zones to eliminate pests. They thought that if a device could take over pest control, the farmers would be able to work under much safer conditions. This led the students to start developing an IoT device that could trap pests in organic vegetable fields using solar energy.

Receiving robust mentoring and support from Samsung Solve for Tomorrow’s online sessions, they designed what they called “Equipment for trapping pests in organic vegetable fields using solar energy.” The team integrated IoT to ensure that the device would operate seamlessly even when it was far away. They credit Samsung Solve for Tomorrow for helping them overcome various obstacles and for teaching them a lot about the importance of teamwork during the problem-solving process, and about thinking critically.

Meet Batuhan, Who Grew Thanks to the Samsung Innovation Campus While Also Participating in the UN Sustainable Development Goals Project

The Samsung Innovation Campus offers various types of ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) education to help unemployed young people competitiveness in the job market. The program offers a total of 240 hours of education in key ICT areas. Students can not only learn about technologies such as AI and IoT, but they can also develop crucial employability skills to help create better opportunities for themselves. As of 2020, approximately 160,000 students have graduated from the Samsung Innovation Campus, and the program is available in 20 regions around the world.

In the face of a job crisis that has left 25 percent of Turkish youth unemployed, Batuhan successfully landed a job in the IT industry after finding his dream at the Samsung Innovation Campus. A 2019 graduate of Istanbul Technical University, Batuhan had been interested in IT, but didn’t stand out in the field. Participating in the Samsung Innovation Campus program offered an opportunity for him to learn practical skills and know-how from field experts, and receive helpful career advice from his mentors.

In particular, Batuhan worked with other participants to plan and execute an environmental project in line with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). He utilized everything he had learned in the program, which ultimately helped him broaden his perspective. “The Samsung Innovation Campus was an opportunity for me to challenge myself in a new way,” said Batuhan. “I learned that the hours of learning and hard work were all worth it in the end. If you wish to work in this field, I recommend the Samsung Innovation Campus.”

‘I Should Pay Forward What I’ve Learned’: Meet Passakorn, the Mentee Who Became a Mentor

Graduates of Samsung Innovation Campus often return to the program as mentors in order to pay forward the help they had received. Passakorn is one of those students. Having participated in SIC during its first year in Thailand, he has returned to serve as a mentor. He first got into programming to develop computer games, and received systematic education at the Samsung Innovation Campus. He and his teammates successfully completed the SIC program with their AI-based smart home solutions project.

By utilizing what he learned at the Samsung Innovation Campus, Passakorn was accepted into the robotics and AI engineering program at King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang. He became a mentor himself to share the special experience that he enjoyed at the Samsung Innovation Campus with more people. He wants students to go through education and training just like he did, and create solutions by collaborating with one another. “Thank you, Samsung Innovation Campus, for opening the door for me to come with my own innovative smart home solutions,” said Passakorn. “I hope to become a driving force for the new generation – the leaders of the future – to achieve innovative and creative feats.”

Technology for All: Meet Carmen, Who’s Lowering Barriers to Medical Support

Technology can create something novel that didn’t exist before, but it can also lower barriers for marginalized communities to access essential services. The idea of helping communities in need is what inspired Carmen, from Italy, to harness technology to make medical support accessible to all.

While in high school, Carmen spent some time teaching English at a rural primary school in Thailand. While there, she noticed that some people with disabilities were not able to receive the medical care that they required. This sparked an interest in robotic medical technology and in building prosthetic limbs and artificial organs.

Carmen joined the Samsung Innovation Campus while majoring in electronic engineering in college. SIC has not only allowed Carmen to acquire technical skills in areas such as AI, IoT and machine learning, but has also helped her strengthen her resilience and emotional intelligence, which are attributes that can separate an extraordinary engineer from the pack.

Carmen is especially interested in IoT, and was thrilled to study applications for IoT in the medical field and learn about the latest smart biosensors. Coming from an engineering background, understanding computer science topics was sometimes a challenge for Carmen. SIC participants, however, tend to come from a diverse range of academic fields and routinely help one another out when it comes to their area of expertise.

“The Samsung Innovation Campus has empowered the world’s youth by providing them with education and technical skills to develop capabilities that will be needed to solve important social issues,” said Carmen. “What I’ve learned here is helping me achieve my goal of creating prosthetic limbs and artificial organs for the disadvantaged. I will keep pushing myself forward to realize my dream and apply my skills and knowledge to make an impact.”

Guided by its CSR vision, “Together for Tomorrow! Enabling People,” Samsung Electronics provides educational opportunities to nurture the talent that will be needed to create a brighter future. Head to Samsung’s corporate citizenship website for more stories on how the company’s programs are helping bright young minds build a better tomorrow.