Seoul, Korea - January 2015:
Korean distributor MI Corporation's most recent sale for API is a landmark deal. Two 1608 consoles were sold at once, marking the first two colleges in the country to install API consoles. Although a handful of other 1608s have been sold in Korea, this particular sale adds to API's growing presence in colleges and universities around the world. The first console of this double-hitter was sold to Kwangwoon University, where it is used in the Practical Music department. Kwangwoon is a private research university in Seoul that is best known for its engineering and IT programs. The Practical Music department is one among many designed to give students hands-on experience that will translate to important skills in the work force. Kwangwoon was founded in 1934, during the "dawn of the electronic era" for Korea, at which time the school was called the "Joseon Radio Training Center." Music recording and transmitting is still a major part of what Kwangwoon students are learning every day — now API is part of that education.

The second 1608 was purchased through MI Corporation by Doowon Technical College. This console has also been installed in the Practical Music department's practice studio. Also like Kwangwoon, Doowon commissioned a 16-channel 1608 for its students. Based in Answong, Doowon is a school for engineers-in-training, making it the perfect home for a 1608. Chan Doo Kim, the founder and chairman of the Doowon Group, says this of the students at Doowon: "It is my hope that young engineers who will be responsible for the future carry a formidable determination and a challenging consciousness to take the highest authority in their chosen professions." The school was founded in 1990, and has sister relationships with engineering schools in China and Japan.

Both consoles were installed in August, and have been used to give the students practical experience on top-of-the-line equipment. Hak Yong Shim of MI Corp says that the schools were convinced to purchase API gear not only by, "MI Corp suggestions, but also based on the opinions of professors at the schools."

In the last few months, API saw new consoles installed in schools across three separate continents, from large-format Vision and Legacy units to the newest compact BOX console, which premiered at last year's AES conference in New York. The BOX's presence in educational facilities continues to grow as schools all over the world choose to place API equipment in their programs, with the intention of training students on the best in the world of analog recording. API hopes that this trend continues, and that opportunities for permanent placement in schools everywhere will continue to grow.