Hongsun Park Engineering Institute

= Hongsun Park Engineering Institute =

Hongsun Park Engineering Institute was founded in 2419 in Phoenixport on Biesel and is dedicated to education. Its early mission was to educate engineering students on the emergent applications of the Phoron present in Tau Ceti. Two years after its discovery, phoron's promising potential for use as an energy source prompted founder Park Seong-ja to establish the institution, with the expectation that the excitement surrounding the resource would make securing investment and donations for the school a simple matter. This hope was quickly fulfilled, as private and government interests combined to fund what they believed would prove to be an important piece of the puzzle to solve the Alliance's energy crisis. Park and her trustees have since striven to stay at the forefront of applied phoron technologies, using the relevance of the field to survive the century's economic and political crises. When NanoTrasen effectively bought the system in 2452, the board moved quickly to closely integrate itself with the megacorporation.

Though young by the measure of more prestigious universities, the Engineering Institute sets itself apart on Biesel for its aggressive marketing and pursuit of emerging, high-risk fields. In no small part thanks to a close partnership with NanoTrasen, they are one of the few educational institutions in Tau Ceti to participate in the megacorporation's Bluespace, xenobiology and exotic particle research programs, offering invaluable experience to their most promising students. The university once catered to job fields entirely dominated by NanoTrasen within Tau Ceti, limiting students' employment prospects within Tau Ceti to the megacorporation,however since the acquisition of Phoenixpoint by Einstein Engines in 2462 NanoTrasen's influence in the university has started to waver, with both megacorporations competing to get students to sign on to their respective megacorp by offering increased wages and scholarships.

The campus itself is notable for being a sprawling locale on the southern edge of Phoenixport, accommodating a network of lecture halls, dormitories, service buildings, a retail outlet, a recreational complex, and multiple laboratory complexes. While there is no accredited athletics program, the school hosts several recreational leagues for activities ranging from association football to e-sports. The school's mascot is a friendly, fictional, labcoat-clad IPC named QUARK, but the recent political climate has prompted a review to potentially replace it.

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The primary focus of the University remains a robust engineering curriculum. The majority of graduates go off to become engineers, atmospheric technicians, and predominately chosen to become Chief Engineers. The campus also strives to have graduates that are brilliant scientists, roboticists, or even Research Directors for various institutions.

Notable Graduates

 * Park Min-soo, Seong-ja's son, currently presides as Dean of the university's College of Engineering, which encompasses the vast majority of its programs. While his aging and functionally-retired mother remains the figurative leader of the institute, Min-soo has taken the majority of administrative responsibilities for himself.