Seoul National University Social Responsibility (SNUSR, led by Director Kim Tae-kyoon) held the finals of the 2024 Social Responsibility PLUS+ Contest on Friday, November 1, 2024. This contest is SNU's only social contribution competition, aims to discover and supporting creative social contribution ideas that can benefit local and international communities from university members. Additionally, it seeks to address various social issues and present a new knowledge-based university social contribution model. Teams that pass the initial document review receive seed funding and undergo an incubation process. During this process, they receive mentoring from field experts at SNU's Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation before presenting their social contribution ideas in the finals. This year's preliminary round attracted 21 teams, totaling 55 participants, and 13 teams (37 individuals) advanced to the finals. The winning teams in the finals are awarded prize money along with opportunities for follow-up support.

Grand Prize Winner: Team Porong

This year's grand prize in the Social Responsibility Contest was awarded to Team Porong for their project, "Dibeot (Digital Friend) - Building a User-Centered Solution for Digital Exclusion through Paper Booklet Distribution." Team Porong presented a solution to address the digital exclusion faced by the elderly, highlighting the severe isolation they experience due to limited digital access, which restricts their ability to obtain information. The team noted that existing online education programs for the elderly have shown limited effectiveness. In response, they proposed a user-centered approach using paper booklets. Specifically, they devised a plan to include content on how to adjust digital device settings to be more elderly-friendly, as well as instructions on using map and taxi applications, kiosks, and KakaoTalk. To encourage active learning, they incorporated practice exercises for each educational topic and used QR codes to enable parallel learning through both printed and video materials. Team Porong presented their vision that distributing the "Dibeot Booklet" for effective digital education for the elderly could not only lay the foundation for a virtuous cycle of strengthening digital capabilities but also address the ultimate issue of elderly isolation.

Team Everyone's Convenience Store Presenting

The top excellence award went to the "Everyone's Convenience Store" team. They proposed a platform called "SoNari" with the theme "SoNari Platform: An Offline Shopping Independence Assistant for the Visually Impaired." This platform aims to support visually impaired individuals access product information, make purchase decisions, and pick up items in offline stores independently. The team developed two key components: 'So', an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) module device that recognizes electronic tags attached within the store, and 'Nari', a smartphone application 'So' detects the user's location based on RFID signal strength, allowing 'Nari' to provide information on nearby products and assist with purchase decisions. The team highlighted expected outcomes such as improved accessibility, expanded choices, and the enhancement of self-reliant living conditions for the visually impaired.

The excellence awards were given to Team No Sun-young and Team Sangbusamjo. Team No Sun-young presented their project titled "Learn International Sign Language and Go Global- Development of international sign language education program and content." They proposed the idea of building a participatory online learning community for international sign language based on deaf experts, as well as developing customized content for non-disabled individuals. Team Sangbusamjo's project focused on "Cleaning Device for Plastic Delivery Containers." They proposed an outdoor cleaning device for delivery containers that sprays cleaning solution according to the size of the container and filters solid materials through a strainer.

This competition is part of a long-term project aimed at establishing SNU's unique contribution model through knowledge-based idea planning and project implementation in the field of development cooperation. It also supports the creation of social enterprises and fosters the growth of contribution-oriented social businesses. SNUSR aims to develop socially responsible leaders among SNU students through various activities both domestically and internationally, focusing on the application of appropriate technology and sustainable volunteer work.

Translated by Siyun Lee (Department of Applied Biology and Chemistry)