A Penn State World Campus student was awarded a Penn State University-level award for a project he completed as part of his studies in supply chain management.
Sungjin Ryu received the Professional Master’s Excellence Award, which recognizes individual student excellence within any graduate program based on the student’s breadth of experience, performance, and professional projects or work. Ryu is pursuing a Master of Supply Chain Management.
Ryu was acknowledged for his academic performance and a project, which involved the development of a supply chain system for electric automotive materials and batteries.
“When you look at the automotive industry, the era of the electric vehicle is coming up faster than we expected,” Ryu said. “The demand for the base materials for developing these vehicles is skyrocketing.”
Ryu was able to develop this project as a sales and supply chain manager at POSCO America, a South Korean–based steel manufacturer.
Working for POSCO America, Ryu recognized the importance of supply chain management after the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. While he had some supply chain knowledge from his job, Ryu wanted to pursue a supply chain graduate degree to further develop his abilities.
“I learned my work by experience, but I assumed there were a lot of moves I could improve by applying the academic knowledge to my practical work,” Ryu said.
Graduate education in supply chain management online
The Master of Supply Chain Management is one of the graduate business degree programs offered online by the internationally recognized Penn State Smeal College of Business. This master's degree is exclusively offered online at Penn State.
“It was highly ranked, and Penn State has a really great alumni network that helps each other,” Ryu said.
Through his studies, Ryu said, he has been able to share his practical work experience with his classmates through case studies and discussion forums, while also learning from other students’ experiences.
Academic excellence
David Huff, clinical professor of supply chain management and faculty director of the Master of Supply Chain Management program, was highly impressed with Ryu’s experience during his time in Huff’s Operations Management and Demand Fulfillment course.
“He was one of the very top students in the class,” Huff said. “A lot of that came through the work that he submitted, especially for our discussion forums and reflection papers. Sungjin consistently made high-quality posts that attracted the attention of others.”
As he has continued his graduate studies, Ryu has explored ways to improve POSCO America’s supply chain management system.
With two more courses to complete until graduation, Ryu said he is “excited to explore the next adventure” as he looks to specialize in his career in supply chain management.
“As an international student, it gave me a lot of confidence to work in the United States,” Ryu said. “I (believe I) can contribute to the automotive industry in the United States.”
25 years of online learning at Penn State
The Master of Supply Chain Management is part of the comprehensive portfolio of degree programs offered online through Penn State World Campus.
Penn State began offering courses online in 1998, when it launched Penn State World Campus. Today, the degrees and certificates offered online through Penn State World Campus include a diverse selection of business programs at the graduate and undergraduate levels.
Learn more about the Master of Supply Chain Management offered online through Penn State World Campus.