The 12th Annual Young Generation Technical Leadership Conference

“Ygnite 2016: REALizing Initiative”



The 12th annual Young Generation Technical Leadership Conference (YGTLC), nicknamed Ygnite 2016, successfully began a new decade, igniting the spirit of collaboration among Korean-Americans in different fields to help them break past personal goals, glass (or bamboo) ceilings, develop their careersBright young professionals, graduate students, undergraduate students from various cities across America, Canada, Korea actively participated in sessions designed especially for their topical interests, broadening their interests, skills, careersThe topical interests covered state-of-the-art research projects cutting-edge technology, as well as workshops sessions on entrepreneurshipIn addition, the special joint session (designed for senior KSEA leaders who attended the KSEA 44^th midterm council meeting) facilitated even greater interaction YG participants bridged various gaps through the sharing of life lessons experiences.

This year, we had a total of 185 attending participants approximately 60 council members.  We received 271 applications, of which 212 acceptances were sent outWe reserved a spot for YG officers from each applying institution an extra spot for institutions newly formed YG Groups to recruit more young leaders to the conferenceThis year, we took the extra initiative to increase the number of working professionals in attendance to maximize the networking value of the conferenceIn total, we had 40% professionals, 34% graduate students, 26% undergraduates.  The young generation participants ranged in age from 20 to 42 the median age at 26 years oldSecond, 1.5th, first generation Koreans comprised 24%, 54%, 21% of the total participants respectively.  Attendees also enjoyed a diversity of geography 7% from Texas, 30% from the West Coast, 25% from the Midwest, 37% from the East Coast.

Overall, Ygnite 2016 was a huge successThe conference drew press coverage from the local Dallas news, we received extensive positive feedback from participants, organizers, council members, speakers.

YGTLC Committee