Kashkadarya Governor Ruziev Zafar Sharopovich, Uzbek government officials, POSCO DAEWOO Managing Director Hyun-soo Kim, and representatives from Hyundai E&C and the Asian Development Bank were among the attendees at the completion ceremony.

The project dates back to March 2013, when Uzbekistan’s state power authorities and the POSCO DAEWOO-Hyundai E&C consortium signed a construction agreement for the 929 MW combined cycle power plant. The USD 862 million project was financed by the Asian Development Bank.

This is the biggest single-unit power plant in Uzbekistan, and will account for 6.6 percent of all the power produced in the country. The plant’s electric power will be supplied to the southern parts of Uzbekistan.

As for the construction process itself, the consortium followed a turn-key process, meaning all the operations including engineering, purchasing and construction were carried out simultaneously.  

“POSCO DAEWOO’s global network, project operation and management skills paired with Hyundai E&C’s construction skills and technology created the synergy that led to the success of this project,” said an official of the consortium. “POSCO DAEWOO plans to use this opportunity to expand its IPP projects beyond Central Asia to Latin America and Africa.”

POSCO DAEWOO is currently operating the first 30MW private capital power plant in Papua New Guinea and is working on building a second plant. Also in the works are new private capital power plant projects in Myanmar, Indonesia and Latin America. POSCO DAEWOO plans to carry out projects related to gas combined cycle power plants and solar power all over the world, and expand the power plant business to the size of 2GW in generation capacity by 2020.

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Over 100 people attended the award ceremony, including the POSCO TJ Park Foundation’s CEO, Ohjoon Kwon; 12 university-related executives including Sogang University Chairman Byungnam Yoon, Yonsei University International Campus Vice President Kyungtae Lee and KDI School of Public Policy and Management Dean Hongtack Chun. Fourteen directors of the Foundation were also present, including former Seoul National University President Joongho Sunwoo, Barun Law Attorney Ilhoan Park, Yonsei University Honorary Professor Bok Song, Seoul National University Professor Hokeun Song, Samchully Chairman Joonho Han and Samil PwC Chairman Kyungtae Ahn, along with 53 Asian scholars.

The scholarship for Asian students studying in Korea is an inbound scholarship supporting young and talented individuals from developing Asian countries to complete master’s or doctoral courses at approximately ten of the most prestigious graduate schools in Korea.

On November 18, the POSCO TJ Park Foundation presented scholarship awards to 28 selected Asian fellows for this year. The scholars will complete master’s or doctoral courses at some of the most prestigious graduate schools in Korea, and then return home to contribute to their countries.

The POSCO TJ Park Foundation selected a total of 28 people as POSCO Asia Fellows this year: 9 from Vietnam, 3 from Indonesia, 3 from China, 2 from Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia and Kazakhstan, and 1 from Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Iran, India and Malaysia.

These scholars will study for two years at institutions in cooperation with the Foundation, such as the Seoul National University Graduate School of International Studies (GSIS), the Seoul National University Graduate School of Public Administration, Yonsei University GSIS, Korea University GSIS, Sogang University GSIS, Ewha Womans University GSIS, KDI School of Public Policy and Management, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies Graduate School of International and Area Studies, POSTECH Graduate School and the Academy of Korean Studies. The Foundation provides full tuitions and living expenses of 1 million KRW a month for two years.

“Asia is the most rapidly growing and dynamic region in the world today, but it’s also scattered with more and more ethnic, religious, ideological and territorial conflicts,” remarked CEO Ohjoon Kwon while delivering words of encouragement at the ceremony.

“The POSCO TJ Park Foundation’s POSCO Asia Fellowship is POSCO’s effort in the private sector to broaden the scope of interaction and cooperation among Asian countries. We hope that, despite our different appearances and thoughts, all the scholars value the sense of cooperation for the joint prosperity of Asia.”

CEO Kwon’s speech was followed by a presentation titled “Growing My Dream with Korea” by Feruza, an Uzbekistan native who is currently an economics major at the Graduate School of Korean Studies of the Academy of Korean Studies. She discussed how she felt and thought of her experience in Korea so far. Moreover, all of the scholars sang a Korean pop song in unison, which they had rehearsed over the last month, receiving applause and a fervent response from the audience.

Furthermore, the POSCO TJ Park Foundation is providing all kinds of support for the convenience of the scholars during their stay in Korea, in addition to the award ceremony hosted by the Chairman for the scholars. A mentor-mentee program is offered for fellows who just came to Korea to help them with issuing the certificates and signing contracts for studio apartments.

Programs are also provided for them to experience society and culture in Korea. Learning the Korean language is also made mandatory so that they can comfortably speak basic Korean during the two years of their stay. Once they are about to return to their homeland after their studies, a conference will be hosted for the students to present their research papers to share the two years of their academic achievements, which will be a fruitful experience for them.

The POSCO Asia Fellowship, which is celebrating its 11th anniversary this year, has provided 12.3 billion KRW to a total of 324 scholars. Most of the scholars are growing into leaders in their home countries after graduation, working as public servants, college professors or employees at global corporations. Furthermore, POSCO Asia Fellows are also running and supporting the POSCO Reunion. Past examples include reunions at Vietnam in 2011, Thailand in 2014, Indonesia in 2015 and India in 2016.

As the core program of the Foundation, the POSCO Asia Fellowship consists of a total of five programs: 1) a scholarship for Asian students studying in Korea, 2) an Asia research grant that supports research by Asian scholars on the liberal arts and social sciences, 3) an Asia regional expert training for in-depth research on the Asian region, 4) scholarship for excellent Asian universities and 5) publication of the first Asian literary journal.

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The first episode of the “POSCO, the Great Company to Work at” series will highlight the POSCO Toastmasters Club.

Toastmasters Club: Onwards to Being a Global Leader!

POSCO provides a supportive and opportune environment for any ambitious employee who is striving to become true global leaders. One of the great ways of training employees is the Toastmasters club. Established in December 2011, the POSCO Toastmasters club is an English speech and leadership club focused on improving employees’ public speaking and organizational skills. The name of the club is used to describe a leader or presenter of a meeting and symbolizes its aim to develop individuals through targeted activities involving communication and leadership. The POSCO Toastmasters club’s regular Wednesday lunch meetings give each member a chance to speak in front of an audience and brings them one step closer to becoming an effective public speaker and leader.  The club is open not limited to POSCO employees; in fact, anybody who aspires to improve their English, verbal communication, and leadership skills are welcome with open arms. Come meet us!

The mission of the POSCO Toastmasters club is to provide a supportive and positive learning experience in which members are empowered to develop communication and leadership skills, resulting in greater self-confidence and personal growth.

What Makes a Toastmasters Club Special?

The POSCO Toastmasters club’s strength is its program and curriculum. Each member is given a different role to perform every week. These tasks add up and eventually have each member perform more than 8 different practical exercises more than once. As shown in the image below, the club meetings delegate functionary roles following a fixed order:

When a member successfully completes the curriculums outlined below, he/she earns a Competent Communicator (CC) certificate from Toastmasters International to recognize their accomplishements. Additionally, when a member performs various roles, including Toastmaster, Table Topics master, and evaluator; and helps organize the club’s meetings and education procedures, his/her achievements are recognized with the Competent Leader (CL) certificate. The education and leadership opportunities do not stop there, as the CC and CL awardees then proceed to further improve their skills through an Advanced Communicator and Advanced Leadership track.

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Curriculum

#1 The Ice Breaker: The first speech is, of course, about yourself!

#2 Organize Your Speech: Practice making a well-organized, coherent speech

#3 Get to the Point: Learn how to convey the key message by dividing the content into general and specific

#4 How to Say It: Choosing the right words and expressions depending on the nature of the speech

#5 Your Body Speaks: Practice effective gestures and body language

#6 Vocal Variety: Experiment with speech tone, pace, and vocal devices

#7 Research Your Topic: Give a trustworthy speech that has sufficient research and evidence

#8 Get Comfortable with Visual Aids: Practice integrating visual aids for a more effective speech

#9 Persuade with Power: Provide clear and coherent logic to effectively persuade the audience

#10 Inspire Your Audience: The final CC speech to apply all the skills gained in the first 9 projects

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Boost Up Skills with Fun Activities

In the POSCO Toastmasters club, we don’t simply follow the curriculum but also provide room for improvement in abilities through various entertaining team activities. Let’s look at some examples of the fun stuff we have done in our club.

Speech Contests

In order to help overcome nervousness when speaking English and to promote friendship among members, the POSCO Toastmasters club recently held a Humorous Speech contest. The contest provides opportunities for the members to share their personal stories, such as “the scariest moment in my life,” in a fun and playful manner. The winner of the club’s speech contest went on to compete with other Toastmasters clubs’ winners, each delivering their speech with humor and joyful charm.

In addition to Humorous Speech contests, there are other types of exciting challenges. This includes the International Speech contest. This particular contest is held once every year and provides a great opportunity to share experiences, improve communication abilities, and develop speech delivery skills while overcoming the fear of speaking in front of a large audience. Winners of our club contest, such as Mr. Jaekyung Park or Ms. Anna Kim, went on to compete at the Area (4 clubs) and Division (more than 15 clubs) level speech contests. Mr. Park won the challenge with the topic of “What are the factors that Korea is globally known for?”

The club not only helps to master English skills, but also creates an environment to meet new people through auction events, skating, picnic at Han River, and other fun activities!

What Team Members Say

Igor: “Time is limited; opportunities are unlimited”

Hi! I was raised in Ukraine and came to Korea in 2008 when I was twenty-one years old. I received a Master’s degree in POSTECH and joined POSCO’s Investment team in 2010. My undergraduate and graduate majors were in metallurgy, and like most engineers, I had problems with public speaking and leadership. While looking for opportunities to develop my speaking and leadership skills, I met Mr. Jaekyung Park who had just returned from Hong Kong with an idea to establish a speech and leadership club called Toastmasters. I have been inspired by his vision, and helped establish POSCO Toastmasters, eventually taking a lead as a club president.

Every Toastmasters meeting is a great opportunity to meet new people, overcome the fear of public speaking, and train task solving skills by taking on leadership roles. The key difference from other clubs is that in Toastmasters I get to receive honest and unbiased feedback from fellow members, so I know what to work on next time. All of my friends and coworkers noticed that I have become more confident about speaking in front of an audience. I can now deliver quality presentations and speeches with ease. In addition to improvements in my speaking skills, I feel like I became better at managing tasks and social connections. I served as an officer in POSCO Toastmasters and organized various events such as speech contests and conferences. I feel that my experience in the Toastmasters club has aided in my promotion to the manager level. Toastmasters is unique because it is a global network of clubs with very motivated and talented people. Your future path is not limited within the boundaries of the club: if you become a skilled speaker, you get to take part in speech contests where you can advance up to the International Speech Contest in the USA. To become a strong leader, you need to take on many leadership challenges and serve as a club, area, division or even district officer, helping others in establishing their own success stories.

Anna: “Inspire yourself through public speaking!”

Hello everyone, my name is Anna Kim from Uzbekistan and I joined POSCO in October 2010. Currently, I am working in the Steel Investments and Technology Planning Department. I have been one of the founding members of POSCO Toastmasters and the vice president of public relations since December of 2011. First of all, by being a member of this club you can improve your English public speaking skills. Furthermore, you can develop leadership qualities by organizing speech contests and events. Finally, you get to meet a wide range of people with various backgrounds and experiences. It is a great opportunity to expand your network and enjoy inspiring and informative speeches.

Yevgeniya, ”Training to become a Global Leader while building a unique network!”

Hi there, I’m Yevgeniya Li from Kazakhstan. In 2010 I got a scholarship from POSCO TJ Park Foundation, and after graduating from Yonsei Graduate School of International Studies, I’ve joined POSCO in October 2012. I am also an active member of the POSCO Toastmasters club, taking a position of the vice president education from July 1^st. The club is great because it is not simply about practicing English and public speaking skills; the club gives its members a great opportunity to become an effective communicator through professional guidelines, training material, and peer evaluation. The weekly meetings help to develop a wide range of crucial skills including leadership, time management, critical thinking, and impromptu conversation. Members are not limited within the boundaries of POSCO, so you get to build a unique, expansive network. And besides, the club is always a lot of fun!

Links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/poscotm

Website: http://posco.toastmastersclubs.org/

Can you feel the enthusiasm and ambition of POSCO employees to become global leaders? The “POSCO, Great Company to Work” series will continue to introduce many other exciting opportunities that the company offers to its employees. Stay tuned!