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Get to Know the New Professor: Prof. Yeong Jae Kim

  • Date 2022-09-19 15:37
  • CategoryStory
  • Hit1397

First of all, thank you for your valuable time and welcome to KDIS. Could you please tell our audience more about yourself?

I am Yeong Jae Kim, Assistant Professor of Energy Policy and Environmental Economics at KDI School of Public Policy and Management. I obtained my Ph.D. from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Public Policy (Environmental Economics). My research arena covers environmental economics, energy policy, climate change issues, and economics of innovation. Furthermore, I have experience working as an analyst in the automobile industry as well.

Could you please tell our audience whyyou choose KDIS and your impressions of our school so far?

First of all, KDIS offers the most internationalized as well as diverse program in the field of development and policy studies in Korea, which provides a platform of research collaboration between experts within the institution as well as outside the School to address particular development issues. Secondly, energy and environmental issues are the critical part of development in today’s dynamics area; thus, they need to be addressed from a multidimensional perspective. Therefore, KDIS is a place where you can address these issues through comprehensive research studies and  conducting seminars at the national and international levels. 

It is just a few weeks since I moved to KDIS, however, I am impressed by the facilities, particularly the library, where different sources for research studies as well as for classroom lectures are available. Additionally, the environment of the School and staff (academic and non-academic) are incredible.

What was your motivation for choosing your specific area of interest (Environmental and Energy Economics)?

There are two main reasons why I choose this specific field. First, climate change and environmental issues have been central debates in all countries around the world, regardless of their development status. So, they must be addressed. Some people or organizations take action by directly engaging with issues in the field while others address issues indirectly. As such, I may not be involved directly, but I have been addressing/ would like to address these issues through research studies and portray comprehensive policy solutions, which may assist national and international organizations in terms of adopting specific action plans or programs to solve the issues. Secondly, intrinsic motivation. I was born to be a book lover, from the very beginning of my studies, I love to read books and write books and articles. This has also impacted my choice of research area . 

As a new professor at School,you are going to offer some subjects in the coming Fall 2022 semester. What kind of learning environment do you want to have in the class with students? 

In the coming semester, I will offer some courses related to environmental issues. The topics related to climate change issues are always debatable - such as carbon tax, renewable energy, financing, and so on. Thus, I am expecting to have a friendly and interactive classroom with students. I love to see students participating in the classroom discussion and expressing their opinion. Hopefully, COVID-19 gives us the chance to have such an interactive classroom.

Usually students approach professors to be their final year project supervisor, taking this in consideration, what advice do you have for students who take your class or want to approach you as a supervisor?

Since I am offering subjects related to environment and climate change issues, which is more or less directly related to today’s development dynamics, I welcome students from all backgrounds in my class. As I said earlier, my class will be interactive, and I expect students to participate and deliver their opinion on a specific topic in the class, given there is no right or wrong answer. Furthermore, when it comes to being a supervisor, I would like to encourage students to select their topic wisely because there are interesting topics related to development and policy issues, but you will not always be able to find appropriate data to define your variables. Therefore, students are always welcome to discuss their topic, and I will do my best to advise them to produce a productive thesis or SRP.

Lastly, what advice do you have for the students at KDIS?

KDIS provides a variety of academic and non-academic opportunities each semester; thus I would like to advise students to grab every opportunity at School. Furthermore, at KDIS, there is a great platform for network building with fellow students as well as professors. Therefore, students have a great opportunity of building a network globally here, and they should take this opportunity and build a great network. Particularly, I advise students to have sustained relationships with their professors as well as other academic staff because in the future after academic life, students can seek advice from their former professors.

For further information about Prof. Kim’s past experience and academic works, you can visit here.

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