APWINC Invites ASEAN Students for Digital & Entrepreneurship Training to Support Global Women Leaders in Innovation
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- Writer 커뮤니케이션팀
- 보도일자 2025-11-14
The Asia-Pacific Women’s Information Network Center (APWINC) invited 56 outstanding female students from seven partner universities across four ASEAN priority cooperation countries—including Vietnam and Indonesia—for a five-day digital and entrepreneurship training program designed to nurture the next generation of global women leaders.
APWINC, which serves as a UNESCO Chair institution, hosted the “2025 Sookmyung UNESCO UNITWIN Training Program” from November 10 (Mon) to 14 (Fri) at Sookmyung Women’s University in Yongsan-gu, Seoul.
The visiting participants were selected from among students who had completed APWINC’s two-month online course on women’s digital and entrepreneurship empowerment, held from June to July, with exceptional results. The program offered advanced, in-person training aimed at strengthening both digital and entrepreneurial capabilities. By linking online and offline learning, the initiative sought to establish a step-by-step training model and cultivate practical, industry-ready global women professionals.
The opening ceremony was attended by Sookmyung University President Moon Si-yeun, APWINC Director Lee Sook-jeong, faculty members, and students from partner institutions. Doan Duc Tung, president of Quy Nhon University in Vietnam, and Vongphasith Hanthakhoun, vice president of Souphanouvong University in Laos, delivered online congratulatory remarks, emphasizing the importance of continued collaboration through the UNESCO UNITWIN network.
In her address, President Moon stated, “The UNESCO UNITWIN program represents a meaningful platform where collective efforts converge to strengthen women’s capacities in digital innovation and entrepreneurship,” adding, “I hope this training becomes not just a place of learning but a springboard for you to grow into ‘outthinkers’ who lead future innovation.”
The five-day program was divided into entrepreneurship and digital tracks. In the entrepreneurship track, Lee Sun-yong, CEO of Perfit Co., Ltd., and Deputy CEO Choi Ye-ji led hands-on sessions in which participants used the business models they had developed during the online course to design real products and services by building their own websites. The training offered a systematic understanding of the entire startup process, including business model refinement, UI/UX planning, and market entry strategies.
In the digital track, Prof. Park Young-min of Sookmyung’s Division of Convergence Studies taught Python-based data analysis and fusion education linking artificial intelligence (AI) and autonomous-driving technologies. Participants completed data-visualization projects and built and tested deep-learning autonomous-driving models, strengthening their ability to understand and apply cutting-edge digital technologies.
During a special session, Choi Yoo-jin, CEO of CLASSUM, delivered a lecture titled “Women Entrepreneurs in AI-Tech Startups,” encouraging students to embrace their unique strengths and to “challenge boldly by believing more in your potential than in your limitations.”
Khanthaly Syvilaifong, a participant from the National University of Laos, reflected, “Through the entrepreneurship training, I was able to see firsthand how business evolves and grows in the era of digital transformation,” calling the program “a meaningful journey that broadened my perspective at every moment.”
At the closing ceremony, APWINC Director Lee Sook-jeong noted, “As Sookmyung Women’s University approaches its 120th anniversary, this program reaffirms our longstanding belief that women’s education is fundamental to national development,” expressing hope that participants will “become pioneering and innovative leaders in their respective countries.”
The UNESCO UNITWIN program promotes knowledge sharing and cooperation between higher education institutions in developed and developing nations. Sookmyung Women’s University was designated as a UNESCO Chair in Women and Communication in 1998, and APWINC has operated UNITWIN-based initiatives since 2016 to strengthen women’s capacities through digital and leadership education.