16th Annual Young Generation Technical and Leadership Conference

Envisioning beyond the limits

The 16th annual Young Generation Technical and Leadership Conference (YGTLC), also known as Ygnite, continued its long-standing tradition in Seattle, WA on January 10-12, 2020. A three-day event, ​Ygnite is a technical and leadership conference for emerging scientists, engineers, healthcare professionals, academics, start-up professionals, and industry professionals. Demographics include individuals from Korean/Korean-American backgrounds as well as those interested and invested in the Korean/Korean-American experience. Ygnite is about building networks, creating spaces for people to share work from diverse fields, collaborate across industries, and most importantly, grow and develop as the next generation of leaders.

This year, we had a total of 208 attending participants and 252 participants for Gala. We received 253 applications, of which 210 acceptances were sent out. We reserved spots for YG officers from each applying institution and an additional spot for institutions with newly formed YG Groups to recruit more committed young leaders to the conference. This year, we took the extra initiative to increase the number of working professionals in attendance to maximize the networking value of the conference. In total, we had 52 percent working professionals, 37 percent graduate students, and 11 percent undergraduates.  The young generation participants ranged in age from 20 to 38 with the median age at 27 years old. Attendees also enjoyed a diversity of geography with 42 percent from the West Coast, 34 percent from the East Coast, 6 percent from the Midwest/Central, and 16% from international places, including Canada and South Korea. Of the people who attended, 54 percent were first-time participants, and 46 percent were returning participants.  

Organizing Committee

Keynote Speaker and Plenary Speakers

The purpose of the Keynote and Plenary sessions was to empower the participants by exposing them to well-established leaders that influence and impact the Korean-American community. Through engaging talks and Q&A sessions, the speakers were presented as role models for the participants. Both speakers were carefully selected as personifications of this year’s theme of “Envisioning beyond the Limit,” demonstrated by their experiences and accomplishments and ways they overcame those “limits” as Korean-American in their respective fields. 

Helena Ku Rhee is a Vice President in the Business Affairs department at Sony Pictures Entertainment, where she negotiates distribution deals with companies like Amazon, Apple, Google and Microsoft XBox. She began her career in the Bay Area, first as a Technology Transactions Associate at the law firm of Cooley Godward, and then as In-House Counsel at Symantec Corporation. When she moved back home to L.A., she worked at Paramount Pictures for 3 years before heading over to Sony, where she has worked for the past 11 years. Helena received her B.A. from Yale University and her J.D. from U.C. Berkeley. In college, she was an English major and writing has always been her passion. She’s written everything from children’s books to a screenplay that was produced into a Spanish-language movie by Netflix Europe in 2018. Her children’s book, The Paper Kingdom, will be released by Penguin Random House on February 18, 2020. The story is based on her childhood, when her parents worked as night janitors and had to take her to work, where they turned drudgery into magic. Find out more info at helenakrhee.com.

John S. Yu, M.D., is the Clinical Chief and Professor in the Department of Neurosurgery and Director of the Brain Tumor Center at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. He is conducting clinical and translational research in immune and stem cell therapy for brain tumors. Dr. Yu earned his bachelor’s degree from Stanford University in Biology and French and spent a year at the Sorbonne in Paris studying French literature. He completed his fellowship in immunology at the Institut Pasteur in Paris. He earned his medical degree from Harvard Medical School and master’s degree from the Harvard University Department of Genetics. He completed his neurosurgical residency at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. In addition, he was a Neuroscience Fellow at the National Institute of Mental Health in the Neuroimmunology Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital, and he was a Culpeper Scholar at the Molecular Neurogenetics Unit at that hospital. He has been voted among America’s Top Doctors annually since 2005.

His team was one of the first to identify a cancer stem cell in glioblastoma. They documented that cancer stem cells are resistant to conventional chemotherapy and contribute to disease relapse and described the mechanism of chemoresistance in glioma cancer stem cells. He developed immunotherapy using dendritic cells to target glioblastoma cancer stem cells. He founded Immunocellular Therapeutics which completed a multi-institutional phase II randomized trial demonstrating improved progression-free survival in patients receiving the vaccine as compared to placebo treated patients. He also founded Kairos Pharma, Ltd. and Enviro Therapeutics. He is an active member of the Korean American Medical Association and received the Career Achievement Award from this national organization in 2011.

Senyon Teddy Choe is currently Professor of Biology at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and President/Director of joint Center for Biosciences (JCB), South Korea. Previously, he was a founding faculty member of the Structural Biology Laboratory of Salk Institute in 1993 and served as faculty from 1993 to 2015. His major honors include election in 1999 to the Fellow of American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in recognition for his frontier science in biophysics of K channels and of TGF-beta ligands. 

Research areas: He did his Ph.D. work in the laboratory of Dr. Robert Stroud (UCSF) and received his Ph.D. from University of California, Berkeley (1987) with expertise in x-ray crystallography. Most recently, his research group at Qualcomm Institute, UCSD and also at JCB focused on molecular mechanisms of cell-cell communication to develop new stem cell therapy and the drug discovery with a particular focus on TGF-beta superfamily ligands. He invented and developed synthetic protein therapeutics against bone and cartilage disorders. He is a sought-after speaker at public events including his two recent TEDx lectures.

Participant Sessions

This year, the program team oversaw the participant-led program sessions, which included lecture sessions, moderated panels, lightning talks, poster sessions, and YG summit. In addition, for this year, Ygnite 2020 introduced a new program: the startup showcase.

Lecture Sessions: 

The lecture sessions provide an avenue for participants to share their technical research, work, or experiences, at an international conference. The lecture sessions allow participants to share their knowledge and experiences in more depth with a formal presentation. The lectures were divided into the following groupings: (1) Health/Biomedical Science, (2) Biomedical sciences, (3) Physical Sciences, (4) Lifestyle. Each presenter was provided with a formal 10-minute slot for PowerPoint presentation, followed by three minutes of Q & A session.

Presenters ranged from undergraduate students sharing their research to professionals who shared about their careers and technology trends. Presenters were asked to submit their material prior to Ygnite for review by the program team to ensure that presentations had limited technical jargon that could distract and/or derail audience engagement. Moreover, presenters were judged by both the audience and two organizers who all received scorecards that were then normalized. Each presentation was judged based on quality of delivery, engagement of audience, as well as ability to answer questions. For each grouping, the best lecturer was awarded a prize during the Saturday night gala. 

Moderated Panels: 

Panel discussions provided an avenue for experts in their field to share their experiences and experiences by means of an engaging discussion to other conference attendees. These experts shared important concepts and “know-hows” that helped audiences accelerate their career. During the application process, participants requested to be a panelist for each of the moderated panels, submitting a bio as well as a paragraph on how their experiences were relevant to the panel theme. The purpose of these panels was to provide Ygnite attendees a wide diversity of not just panel topics but also a wide variety of voices and experiences within each panel. Logistically, panel sessions consisted of 3-4 panelists and a moderator, and were one hour long. The moderator prepared a list of questions to ask the panelists and served to facilitate discussion between the panelists and audience. Ygnite 2020 held the following thematic panel sessions: (1) Healthcare, (2) Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace, (3) Startup, and (4) Early Career/Student Life.

Poster Sessions:

The poster session was held on Friday late-afternoon and was divided into two separate periods where in each period, half the participants were assigned to present, while the other half could have the chance to learn what their peers had to share through their poster presentations (while serving as evaluator). The presentations ranged in many different topics such as pharmaceutical research, mechanical engineering, and big-data analysis. 

Poster presenters were asked, prior to Ygnite, to prepare a 5-minute oral presentation of their poster for both the session as well as for the Poster Session Judges, who, in pairs, judged posters based on content, visual presentation, oral presentation, and ability to answer follow-up questions. Poster awards for “Best Poster,” which were divided amongst four categories, and were recognized during the Awards Ceremony Saturday evening. This year with generous support from BIOT, 3 poster awards were given to those in health/biomedical sciences.

Lightning Talks:

Lightning talk, modelled after TED-talks, provided an avenue where participants could share their experiences from work, studies, or life to inspire other participants. Through this platform, participants explained how they have successfully aligned themselves with this year’s Ygnite theme of “Envisioning Beyond the Limits.” Participants were encouraged to be creative and deliver their presentation in a way that will engage audiences from diverse backgrounds. 

Lightning talks consisted of a 5-minute PowerPoint presentation, followed by 1-2 minutes of Q & A. Prior to Ygnite, each Lightning talk participant submitted an outline (and visuals if applicable) to the program team for review and guidance. Lightning Talk presenters were split into 3 sessions on Saturday afternoon, each with a diverse range of content. Each session was judged by both participants and designated reviewers on content, delivery, organization and ability to answer; from the criteria, one Lightning Talk presenter from each session was recognized on Saturday during the Awards Ceremony of the Gala program.

Startup Showcase (New Avenue of Participation):

The newly developed Start-up Showcase provided an avenue for aspiring and early-stage entrepreneurs to share their technology-based venture ideas, network with like-minded entrepreneurs and acquire mentorship from established professionals in the field. Selected finalists representing South Korea and the United States (six individuals from each country) came together to participate in a pitch competition as well as workshops where they heard from venture capitalists and seasoned entrepreneurs. This avenue provided a wealth of information for new start-ups on how to grow their business as well as an opportunity to pitch to a diverse audience at an international level. 

The core objectives of the program were to: (1) Promote the entrepreneurial culture within the young generation communities, (2) Educate and facilitate the development of young generation novice entrepreneurs by providing them with relevant workshops, and mentorship, (3) Discuss strategies for early start-ups to infiltrate US-market, and (4) Help aspiring entrepreneurs to network with other young professionals specializing in STEM. More specifically, the showcase program consisted of several sessions including panel discussion session, elevator pitch mentorship program, infiltrating US market seminar, and the pitch competition.

For the pitch competition, finalists were expected to provide 5-minutes PowerPoint presentation (followed by 2 minutes of Q & A session) showcasing the company’s innovative solution, idea, and/or technology. Participants were evaluated by content, content delivery, organization, and ability to answer questions. Finalists were assessed by a dedicated panel of judges comprised of industry professionals, Venture Capital firm executives, and established entrepreneurs, where the three winners were announced during the Ygnite Gala. Ygnite provided three main awards (1st place award with a value of $3000) and 4 thematic audience-choice awards.

YG Session: 

During Ygnite, two sessions of YG Summit were held to provide YG representatives with useful tips as well as networking opportunities. These programs, specifically targeted YG leadership development and problem-solving for areas that hold YG chapters back in their developments. At the national level, YG representatives had time to discuss and address the questions and concerns that the local YG chapters had. The two sessions were spearheaded by leaders of YG National committee (independent of, yet still alongside, Ygnite organizing initiatives).

 Conference Networking

Preunions: Prior to Ygnite, participants from cities across the U.S. and Canada got together for informal gatherings, based on region. For both first time and returning participants, it was a great opportunity to learn more about Ygnite 2020 and meet local participants. 

First-timer info session: New to this year, Ygnite provided an informational session from first time attendees. The intent of this program was to provide a brief overview of the conference for first time attendees before the start of the official programming. Although it was an optional program on Thursday evening, we had over 30 attendees. In addition to a brief presentation about Ygnite networking, we had two past Ygnite attendees share their experiences and give practical tips on making the most out of Ygnite. 

During Ygnite (Icebreakers, Meals Seatings, & Team Competition): 

One of the unique things about Ygnite is its focus on networking. Ygnite networking organizers have embedded multiple networking opportunities throughout the program. These opportunities include ice breakers, meal seatings, and team competition. For every meal during the conference, seat assignments were carefully curated to bring together participants of relevant experience and similar interests. This year we designed ice breaker games to not only break the ice among participants but also encourage critical thinking, communication, and teamwork. Participants had a chance to get to know each other in a smaller group setting through team competition on Saturday morning. Teams in groups of 10 completed a series of games, quizzes,  photo scavengers, and culprit-finding. 

Sponsorship

Every year,  thanks to the incredible contributions from our sponsors, Ygnite is able to offer participants many opportunities to engage with and enjoy the conference, while also introducing new programs. In addition to the generous support of our co-hosts Oversees Korean Foundation (OKF) and Korea-U.S. Sciences Cooperation Center (KUSCO), a record high number of corporate and individual donors supported Ygnite this year. The corporate sponsors included BIOT, Innopolis, Friends of Ygnite, KSEA Seattle Chapter, B. Bridge, Seamor, UTS Cargo, David and June Kim Foundation, Kakao, and Delta,  Individual donors included John Lee, Heonmin Lim, Justin Kim, Eugene Lee, Joy Kim, Sungmin Bae, Jillian Ahn Seymour, Younjin Lena Lim, Sang Kyu Cho, Sung Choi, Katherine Soojin Cho, Alex K Woo, Barlgum Thomas Choi, Bora Kim, Dahea You, Epiphany Ryu, Eunju Im, Hong Ju Jeon, Jeonghwa Kim, Jessica Hong, Jihu Kim, Jin Yu, Jules Lee, Kevin Kim, Kevin Riutzel, Nathan Byun, Sanghyun Sean Jung, Sho Il (Jerry) An, Won Jun Jo, Yun Jeong Choi, In A (Catrina) Son, Jenny Jung, Minhong Baik, Soobin Park, Iris Choi, Younseok Choi, Dennis Cha, Han Gyeol Ryu, Dianne Seohyun Lee, Jiwoo Kim, JiYoung Park, Taegon Jay Lee, Jacquelin Kim

VIP Cocktail Hour 

As a token of appreciation, we hosted VIP cocktail hours both on Friday and Saturday evenings. On Friday evening, representatives from corporate sponsors and individual sponsors had the opportunity to network and learn further about KSEA and Ygnite. For Saturday evening, the VIP cocktail hour was merged with the Gala happy hour where sponsors had the opportunity to connect directly with the conference participants and VIPs from the local Korean-American community.

Gala

The Ygnite Gala, prepared by the gala team, was a way for us to connect, build relationships, and share what Ygnite and the broader science and technology community is doing. Our gala welcomed everyone within and outside of Korean/Korean-American communities interested in science and technology; Ygnite Gala served as an extended invitation to all people from local Seattle community as well as cultural organizations around the area; it was also an excellent opportunity for people to get a taste of what Ygnite/KSEA is all about and expand the community.

This year’s program consisted of several welcoming remarks, keynote address (Dr. Senyon Choe), evening fun activities, award ceremony, Red Carpet photo shoot, cocktail reception, as well as a silent auction. The silent auction was one of the fun events of the night, which was also held during the cocktail reception of Ygnite Gala. All auctioned items were generously donated by individuals or companies. The item details and winners were announced on the day of the Ygnite Gala.

This year, participants were able to earn raffle tickets throughout the conference based on their engagement and participation at the conference, which included winning a series of rapid-quiz challenges between the seated tables. Raffle ticket items included one domestic round-trip flight, several gift cards, speakers, and many more items.

Ygnite 2020 Awards

The awards Ygnite gives during the Gala, recognize exceptional skills and talent. The awards and awardees were determined by careful selection via judges and rubrics.

Lightning Talk

Poster

Lecture

Start Up

Testimonial

Taehwa Lee
Stryker

Had lots of fun, and had a chance to meet people with similar interests. Great opportunity to network and to check out the city. See you again in the future

Jaeung Jang
Virginia Tech

Every time I attend Ygnite I meet people of great minds influencing me to be a better person and get motivated to work hard. They shared knowledge outside my expertise allowing me to come up with new interdisciplinary ideas. What is more great about Ygnite is that the connections last even after the conference ends so you can still keep in touch with each other, and thus suggest everyone attend Ygnite.

Sunny Jungyeon Lee
University of North Texas

Ygnite 2020 was the best and foremost great experience for me to get involved in a professional world and to network with so many varieties of people. The programs that were organized by all the committee members and organizers were fun and proactive that was helpful to build teamwork and leadership skills. Some of the activities inspired me to use for my organization for team building exercises. Also, thank you for the best memory of my 21st with all the great friends I made here at Ygnite. I enjoyed it a lot and I am hoping to get more actively involved in KSEA YG. See you, everyone, in 2021!

Yoonji Baek
MCPHS

This amazing 3-day conference provided me a place to learn, grow, and connect with students and professionals from different backgrounds. Every participant I met was so passionate about what they do and willing to share their experience. Ygnite is where I would go to get inspired and motivated to start the best new year!

Sean Mujin Kim 
University of Maryland Baltimore School of Pharmacy

Ygnite is a unique conference that allows people to meet from different states and even from different countries. This year was my third time participating in Ygnite. Unlike the first two times, I participated as a YG National Board Director this time. Though we met via online conferences for YG chapter meetings, I was excited to meet them in person.

Even with limited conditions of weather, the conference was smoothly run by organizers, who put in much effort from the beginning to the end. I noticed that this wonderful conference could not have happened without these amazing organizers. And, these organizers could only be able to exist by having great mentors from the previous.

Ygnite has provided me a special group of friends, who see each other every once a year, without having awkwardness. When the time comes to work together as a team to host an event, we pour out our best to accomplish the event and give back to the association what we were privileged to receive before. I am very thankful for the KSEA, which ultimately provides us this priceless opportunity to network. I also appreciate this year’s organizers, co-chairs, and the chair, who coordinated the whole event for a longtime from the beginning to the end and finished it strongly. 

Clara Kim
University of North Carolina, Eshelman School of Pharmacy

As an attendee of Ygnite for many years, I can attest to the fact that the conference continues to surprise me every time I come. Ygnite is a conference that fills up the hotel with passion and enthusiasm. Participants are eager to share their professional and personal interests, and Ygnite provides ample opportunities for everyone to share their passion through sessions and various networking activities. Every year, I fly into the Ygnite host city looking forward to the networking programs – each Ygnite has had unique networking programs. This year, the icebreaker activities and team competition were creative and allowed for many opportunities to meet new people. I especially enjoyed the energy of the organizers who led the icebreakers and team competition, who helped break the ice and fuel our energy levels for the rest of the day. 

Attending Ygnite has been not only a place to meet new people, but also to catch up with friends I have built through KSEA over time. It is incredible to see how much we have grown personally and professionally over the years – how our career trajectories have developed or changed, how our passions have evolved. Ygnite is a conference where the KSEA YG community is strengthened and refueled, with returning and new participants having robust conversations and networking at every session, coffee breaks, and even during the after hours networking events. After Ygnite, I come back to my home city filled with inspiration and aspiration to become someone who is able to reach beyond my limits. It is almost like making a New Year’s resolution in the middle of January, as I come back learning more about myself and challenging myself to become a better person than yesterday. After all, there are not many opportunities to be amongst 200+ Korean-Americans who strive to be innovators and entrepreneurs. 

Being a sixth time participant, I began to ask myself: What is my value at KSEA and Ygnite? As a soon graduating pharmacy student, how will I make an impact through my career, an impact that so many people seem like are making already?

Prior to flying out Ygnite this year, I had many doubts about actually attending, as I felt like at this point I do not add much to the value of the conference. Amongst newcomers and more professionally established attendees, I was afraid that I will not be able to provide the inspiration that others always provide me. Throughout the conference I was challenged, through conversations held and questions asked. And with these challenging moments I began to realize that as YG, we are all currently (or in the past have been) facing those difficult moments in life, making major career/professional decisions and growing from the ups and downs of self-doubt and self-esteem. KSEA YG is such a unique community where uncertainties of ups and downs in life from being a student or early career professional can be discussed and be sympathized with, as we all have recently gone through or are currently going through such challenges. I am so thankful to the opportunities that Ygnite provides for us to grow so much – without Ygnite as the core KSEA YG event, the KSEA YG community would not be able to develop and strive. It is with my best wishes that Ygnite continues to thrive and make an impact on many more young Korean-American scientists and engineers. It was reflected in every aspect of the program that participants are valued by the conference, and that was a very powerful sentiment that provides so much strength for participants to step outside of their boundaries.