International College

My name is Bruce NDIBANJE(브루스 니반제) from Burundi located in Central-East Africa. Burundi is very known because of our best coffee " ARABICA". NDIBANJE(니반제) has a special meaning in my country. It means the first born( a boy normally) in the family. I am the elder in my family with 6 brothers (including a foster-brother) and 3 sisters.

I cannot believe that it's been 5 years being in Korea at DSU. Really time flies! I have joined DSU for MS studies in March 2011. I remember the first time I arrived at Gimhe Int'l Airport, a young Korean staff from Int'l Office of DSU came to pick me up, and we came at DSU directly to the DSU international dormitory. It was very cold at that time, and it was my first time to face winter season. The same day in the PM, I joined Prof. Hoon-Jae Lee's lab. I struggled in the first semester, but with Prof. Hoon-Jae Lee guidance and advices, I realized that research life is enjoyable.

Before coming to Korea I was working with the United Nations in my country (Integrated Office of UN in Burundi) as an IT Assistant. It has been a big challenge to me to come to Korea because at that time my wife was pregnant and we were waiting for a baby within one month. In addition, it was not easy to me to resign from the UN which was a best job in my country. In front me there was DSU scholarship(full tuition fees) to take it or not! Finally, I took time to think more than twice and more important I discussed with my wife about this project and we spent many time together in prayers for asking God guidance. At the end I packed my baggage and here I am! After 6 months my wife joined me with a baby boy. I was really a great joy for us to be unified again. I graduated in 2013 for MS studies and I got chance to pursue with PhD studies under same Professor. I successfully completed my PhD degree requirements on 7 January 2016 when I was done with my final PhD defense and I graduated on February 12, 2016.

During my graduate studies, I have been involved in different projects such as Electronics and Telecommunication Research Institute (ETRI) and National Security Research Institute (NSRI) where I was a team leader. My research results have been a great add in our laboratory where I built-up a strong record of publication including more than 6 International Journal (among them 3 SCI-E) and 25 conference papers and most of them have been published/presented in top scientific journals conferences (SCIE, IEEE, ACM, SPRINGER (LNEE, CCIS), and SCOPUS.

I cannot finish this essay without saying something about my life in Korea: first of all Korea is a beautiful country with mountains and ocean surrounding Korea except Nord part. The transportation is well organized, the internet high-speed is incomparable! I will miss it, really! About food I like 김치, 비빔밥,삼겹살 , 감자탕. Talking about Korean people can take more pages but, I found in them love and hospitality which made my stay comfortable and especially in Busan.

I don't know what the future holds for me but I know God holds the future. About future, I wish to pursue my career in a security research company where I can continue my research on concrete structures. For a distant future, I wish to join an academic profession in order to contribute as a Professor.

Dr. Bruce NDIBANJE