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Students Complete Internships with South Korean Company
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Northeast Ohio's relationship with South Korean electric vehicle technology advanced this summer with three students from the region -- two from Youngtown State University’s STEM College and one from the University of Akron College of Engineering -- completing internships in South Korea at Power Plaza Co. Ltd, a power conversion technology company, reports the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber.
This initiative is part of a strategic business development campaign by the chamber and U.S. Sen. Rob Portman to cultivate South Korean investment into Northeast Ohio.
The three students were Robert Virostek and Yonatan Tadesse, both from YSU, and Garrett Dowd from the University of Akron.
The internships were designed to help Power Plaza advance electric vehicle technology from several perspectives: personal mobility, commercial vehicle application and power conversion technologies.
Power Plaza has stated that the Cleveland-Pittsburgh TechBelt region is ideally suited for any North American investment, given the location, automotive and technology supply chain and advanced research from institutions such as the University of Akron and YSU.
Last October, Power Plaza signed a memorandum of understanding with YSU’s Research Foundation for shared electric vehicle technology collaboration. Executives of Power Plaza also brokered an MOU between YSU and the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology for shared faculty and student exchanges for research. This internship opportunity was another step in the build out of such research.
Eric Planey, the chamber’s vice president of international business attraction, said, “These interns served as direct liaisons to advancing our mission of assisting Power Plaza in their global expansion, and hopefully this will lead to the company calling the Youngstown-Akron region their North American home.”
Dr. Martin Abraham, dean of the YSU STEM College, added, "This is the second consecutive year in which STEM College students have enjoyed internship experiences with a Korean electric vehicle manufacturer. We were pleased to hear from PPK management that the YSU students contributed significantly to successful new product development."
SOURCE: Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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