NEWS
#Inside NEXTLab
June 2023 Workshop
2023.6.12All NEXTLabbers attended the workshop from June 1st to 2nd, to revitalize morale and assess performance during the first half of 2023.NEXTLab employees had lunch just before arriving at the workshop venue, and visited a sheep ranch at Hongcheon, Gangwon-do as the first leg of the trip. After dinner followed a recreation session at the hotel, concluding the first day. For the second day, after checking out from the hotel, everyone went to a strawberry farm and picked strawberries. The last event of the trip was the tech summit, where many teams shared their work and vision for the remaining half of 2023.The workshop began at 10 o’clock, June 1st. All 28 staff members at NEXTLab gathered at Gangnam-gu office station, Line 7, and got on the bus that took them to Gangwon-do. Since the bus driver drove well, we arrived a little earlier at the restaurant than planned. The lunch menu was a choice between raw meat noodles and sesame noodles, with potato pancakes and steamed pork provided at each table. Everything was so delicious! After lunch, everyone checked into the hotel at Hongcheon, Vivaldi Park and had a brief break before going to the sheep ranch there.<Sheep Ranch>Because the sheep ranch was located on top of a mountain, we had to take a gondola there. Up to 5 people could get on each gondola, and for safety, there were precautions not to stand up while the gondola was operating. One look out the window made me understand why the safety precautions existed, as the slope below was very steep. However, the rugged slopes didn't dampen expectations for the sheep ranch experience, as many NEXTLabbers were smiling during the gondola ride. Upon arriving at the ranch, there were so many cute sheep and goats there, waiting for us! The food bucket for the sheep was affordable, and cost only 1,000 won. Even if you didn’t want to buy the food bucket, there was grass nearby, and all you had to do was pick some up to feed the sheep. It was fun watching the sheep gather when a person approached them with grass! After spending good quality time with the cute sheep, NEXTLab employees took a group photo before leaving the ranch for dinner.The dinner menu was pork barbecue, followed by chicken ribs and grilled deodeok roots. Deodeok is a type of mountain herb whose roots are edible. Grilled deodeok tastes good, and I recommend them to any foreigner that visits Korea.The evening air was cool. So, many NEXTLabbers took a walk near the restaurant after dinner. Some people played rock, paper, scissors, and the loser bought ice cream at the convenience store next door. Then, everyone got back on the bus to return to the hotel for the recreation.<Recreation> Among the many enjoyable games during the recreation session, one of them was familiar since we played it last year. The game is called ‘Speak with your body.’ The players must describe a keyword with their body, without making any sounds. Feel free to guess what our research engineer, Junhan Kim, is trying to explain in the 2nd picture!The game in the 3rd picture is called ‘Guess the odd one.’ Each team member receives a drink, and only 1 person’s drink is different compared to other members’ drinks. For example, the team in the picture drank water, but only 1 person had very salty water in his/her glass, and the opposing team had to guess who that was. Everyone showed rich facial expressions and pretended to be the one drinking salty water, so this game was entertaining!The 1st prize for the winning team was a wireless vacuum cleaner, provided by the CEO, Sungmin Kim. Other prizes included cultural gift certificates worth 20,000 won.After the recreation session, all employees enjoyed personal time, free to do whatever they wanted. Some people remained in the room to drink and chat, while others played board games. I joined the intern, Suhyeon Kim, in a singing room and sang a few songs before going to bed. Everyone was so good at singing, to the extent that I wouldn’t be surprised if they suddenly decided to become singers one day!<Strawberry Farm>The first schedule on the itinerary for the 2nd day was strawberry picking. The name of the strawberry farm was ‘Sealing Berry.’ Besides managing the farm, the owners directly sell strawberries to customers, and organize strawberry picking events for visitors.Their strawberry quality was great, with the large size and red color. The strawberries were so delicious, and the owners also gave us strawberry jam, toast, and even some strawberry latte to taste! It was great drinking strawberry latte in summer, fresh from the farm, since strawberry is a seasonal fruit for spring and many cafes usually advertise strawberry beverages then. Also, strawberry picking was interesting because the berries are typically grown in greenhouses and can't be seen from the car while driving in the countryside. Plus, the farm was much bigger than what I had expected, so it amazed me.Before NEXTLab staff began to pick strawberries, the farm owner explained how to identify which strawberries were ripe and good to pick, how to pick them well, and how to maximize their freshness after taking them home. Everyone listened carefully and considered all the tips while they picked strawberries. As a result, everybody managed to pick a large amount of strawberries and take them home. Here’s a photo of NEXTLab’s IAS team! On the left, research engineer Dongsun An is holding a strawberry in his hand. It looks as if he’s advertising the strawberry farm! What a handsome model! On the right, our CEO, Changgeun Lee, has just finished picking his share of strawberries and is presenting them with a sweet smile.<Tech Summit>To wrap up the workshop, the ‘Tech Summit’, which was the most important event during the trip, waited NEXTLabbers. It took place in a presentation hall at the strawberry farm, which was beautifully decorated. I hope the cute interior design helped lower the presenters’ nervousness.The order of the Tech Summit presentations was as follows: 1. IAS Team : Latest Trends in Technology Regarding ChatGPT and NEXTLab’s Solution Utilizing ChatGPT Presenter : Changgeun Lee, CEO2. Sales Team : Latest Trends in the Broadcasting and Telecommunications Industry and NEXTLab’s Role Presenter : Jaehyun Park, Head of Sales3. Business Management Team : Latest Trends in Test Automation Presenter : Jaehyung Ahn, Assistant Manager4. Research and Development Team : Improving Testing Capabilities - Web Streaming, Image Storage Format, Macroblock Servers Presenter : Woojin Jo, Senior Research Engineer5. Solution Development Team : Setting Up the Live Service Monitoring System and Cost-saving Tips Using Self-developed Sentry SystemPresenter : Seyong Lee, Team Leader6. Hardware Development Team : STB Multimeter’s History and Future Roadmap for Development Presenter : Seonjoon Park, Team Leader7. IMT Business Development : QaaS(QA-as-a-Service) and MaaS(Measurement-as-a-Service) Launching Plans Based on Client FeedbackPresenter : Sungmin Kim, CEO The Tech Summit started with NEXTLab's CEO, Changgeun Lee, representing the IAS team. IAS stands for ‘Intelligent Automation Service,’ and their key solutions are automatic vehicle license plate recognition and traffic regulation compliance. This time, as ChatGPT rose as the hot potato in the AI and machine learning field, Mr. Lee introduced the latest trends in using ChatGPT. In addition, he also showcased his team's achievement, which is a whole new solution that customized ChatGPT to NEXTLab's clients’ needs.I myself tried using ChatGPT once, but found it to be below expectations. Fair enough, because I guess all the buzz regarding ChatGPT had increased my expectations of it. Maybe I might need to brush up on my skills by finding the right prompts to use. Since using ChatGPT to help effectively at work can be more difficult than you think, I believe that when the new solution is complete, there would be many prospects seeking to use it.All the presentations were interesting, but the hardware development team’s presentation reminded me of game showcase events where the roadmap of future content is released to the public. Their roadmap of new hardware developing plans for NEXTLab's principal product, the STB Multimeter, was very concrete and well-organized. On top of this, the team also led us on a walkthrough regarding the history of the STB Multimeter's many hardware versions that had been created in the past, which was intriguing as many NEXTLabbers didn't know the history and background of its development.Since the Tech Summit began with one CEO, Changgeun Lee, it was fitting to end the event with another CEO, Sungmin Kim, and his presentation. As the head of the IMT department, which stands for ‘Intelligent Measurement and Testing,’ his perspective on the test automation industry's future was quite enlightening. His vision and business plans for QaaS(QA-as-a-Service) and MaaS(Measurement-as-a-Service) allowed many NEXTLabbers to get an idea of what they would work on during the second half of 2023.For 1 night and 2 days, NEXTLabbers strengthened their bond by eating together, sleeping together, and participating in many activities together. By replenishing their energy during the workshop, everyone will continue to work hard and develop amazing solutions for the test automation field. Even the heavens seemed to smile upon us, as the weather was just fantastic during the two days we spent at Hongcheon.I hope NEXTLabbers would go on more excursions like this, since it cheers everyone up and promotes a happier working atmosphere!
#Inside NEXTLab
NEXTLab's Third Team Day in 2019
2019.11.12NEXTLAB’S THIRD TEAM DAYIt is time for the third ‘Team Day’, which is one of NEXTLab’s many welfare systems that went into effect this year.Unlike the previous team day, which was divided by each team, everyone was there except members who had other schedule. Lotte World, which was close but couldn’t go due to the busy schedule, was chosen as the venue for this team day.As you can see in the picture, despite the fact that it was a weekday afternoon, there was a huge crowd. Before starting Gyrospin, there was one person who was extremely nervous: Gibum Kim, our senior researcher.When the ride actually started, he had the most difficult time among everyone.(hints:red) Doesn’t it look so fun just looking at the pictures? That's Eunbi Jeon, our management support team leader. She always cheers up everyone with her bright mood. The tired appearance of four brothers and sisters in a dog hat.Gayoung, a bright, chubby college intern, joined us late in the afternoon and enjoyed it together.Since we rode most of the popular attractions in the morning, she missed out on them. Poor Gayoung... After a fun team day, we had a quick dinner together.I hope more people would enjoy Soju. I don’t even remember the last time I went to the theme park.It’s been a long time since I had so much fun.
#Inside NEXTLab
2019-10-08 3Q WORKSHOP
Nextlab's Q3 workshop was held on October 8th. There was always a time to share quarterly goals and achievements, but this workshop boldly abandoned the rigid procedure and proceeded with a lighter topic than usual. The first order of this workshop was the announcement of Yoon Young-joo, who happily presented the difficulties of overseas business trips. Her parody of "I Want to Know It" caught everyone's attention.In addition, Kim Ga-young and Baek Ji-yoon, who are completing the internship course of university students, also participated in the event. After lunch, we gathered together and moved to Eulji-ro.During this workshop meeting, the CEO said, "Is there anything hip?"What you said was a source of trouble.We went on a tour near Eulji-ro, also called Hiji-ro.Jongno and Eulji-ro used to be very common, but with the explanation of a professional curator,Each element came new, and it was a good experience to reflect on this place once again. The set-up shot of CEO Lee Chang-geun and Dr. Park Young-soo during the Euljiro tour.It blends with a retro background and gets into the mood. We also went to Eulji-ro 4-ga along Cheonggyecheon Stream after the tour at Eulji-ro 3-ga!A company dinner continued at '7.8 Makgeolli'.In a makgeolli restaurant run by a foreigner, a foreigner introduces alcohol in Korean.It was a unique and interesting experience.That concludes Q3 2019 Workshop Review:)
#Inside NEXTLab
2019-07-12 Second Quarter Settlement
Nextlab is conducting an internal workshop that shares quarterly goals and performance. The quarterly workshop that we've been doing since this year is:Share management status and performance of each team to improve understanding of mutual work.It comes from the purpose of promoting the intimacy of the members through awards and recreation.In addition, it was a meaningful time with the addition of the foundation celebration.* NEXTLab was born on 14 July 2012 :) It was time to look back on the second quarter of NEXTLab with all the members.This is how we share sales status and future plans together. Lee Ji-woong, the lead researcher of the 1st New ITEM AWARD, will take the honor.He presented ideas that are related to his work and received the best evaluation as a result of internal review.The selected ideas will be commercialized after materialization. The second award category combines the accumulated results of the praise Bot developed by the company, on-site voting, and executive evaluation.The NEXTLabber Award is given to the member who received the best evaluation this quarter.The main character became Lee Se-yong, a senior researcher. As a prize, 500,000 won in travel support and accommodation rights were awarded. After finishing all the in-house meals, I'm on my way to Gangnam Station to enjoy recreation. Due to the high number of people, we've decided to notify them of the time and place, and we've decided to gather on our own.This is what the "Ddareungi Team' looks like. We all gathered at the screen sports experience center at Gangnam Station and had a great time before dinner.At the end of the workshop, we'll have a Chinese course dinner.We successfully finished the workshop in Q2 2019.I'm already curious about what kind of new attempts the next workshop will make.
#Inside NEXTLab
2019-06-04 STS + DIMS
Nextlab's Second Team Day (TEAMDAY)Two or more members of the team conduct outdoor activities such as meals and picnics to promote friendship between the members.This is the second time of Team Day, NEXTLab's differentiated welfare system.This team day will be led by Jung Yong-jin and Cho Eun-bi of the DIMS team.Park Jae-hyun, Kim Sang-yoon, and Kim Ki-bum of the STS team were together. As a result of the decision of the meeting place, it was selected as Konkuk University Station.As soon as we got together early in the morning, we filled our stomachs at the salad bar. After the meal, we moved to the massage cafe, Mr. Healing.We sat in the massage chair for about an hour to relieve muscles and fatigue. Now that we had relieved our fatigue after eating, the last place we traveled to was...It is an indoor shooting range filled with a variety of sports, as well as a bow that pulls demonstrations directly from guns such as rifles and pistols.Everyone's so good at this, putting their heads together until the end of the game.It was so tense that no one could predict the outcome.Let's finish posting looking forward to the next Team Day:)
#Inside NEXTLab
2019-04-17 SFS + AUTRON + UX
TEAMDAY is one of NextLab's employee welfare.Team Day means that two or more members of a team have a meal, picnic, and other outdoor activities.It is the first welfare system created this year to promote friendship among members.The first beneficiaries are the Smart Factory (SFS) team led by Lee Se-yong.The Autron team led by Kang Hee-ki, Senior Senior Yoon Young-joo and Deputy Manager Jeon Eun-bi.This team day was planned to be two parts in total.The concept of part one was to eat and talk at a brunch cafe with a nice view.The venue was decided to be Yeouido brunch cafe 'All Morning in the World'.It's a panoramic picture of the entrance to the place. It's located in the hot FKI building these days.It's a picture that makes my mouth water just by looking at the meal, dessert and sight.Moving across the Han River, after the chicken with board games and capping off Part 2 :).