1分6合

Korea University President Chung Jin-taek speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at his office at the school's Anam campus in Seoul. Chung asked students to strengthen their multifaceted capabilities to think on their own and make decisions for themselves in the course toward their future careers. Courtesy of Korea University

President Chung tells students to have as many experiences as possible and not fear failure

By Lee Se-hyeon, Kang Da-yoon

The mismatch between jobseekers' level of acquired education and the level of skills required at workplaces has widened, pushing up both the unemployment rate for young people and job vacancies at companies.

As part of steps to fill these gaps, a growing number of universities are establishing new curricula and introducing diverse extracurricular activities to help students learn skills required at companies.

Korea University has been ahead of the pack of schools seeking to address this education-job mismatch.

At the center of Korea University's drive to introduce diverse academic and nonacademic programs designed to prepare students for their future careers has been the leadership of university President Chung Jin-taek.

"I think universities should provide an environment where students can have diverse experiences. Education is about broadening the options students can choose from," Chung said in an interview with The Korea Times. "This environment will allow students to have experiences, collect the necessary data to make decisions and carry out actions."

Chung, who took office in 2019, has not only brought what he calls various "convergence projects" linking science, engineering and the humanities, but also took steps to boost cooperation with major companies and startups.

During an interview that ran nearly two hours in his office, Chung stressed the importance of "convergence," "open minds" and "experiments" for students.

"Students should not lock themselves into a frame. They should have an open mindset and diverse experiences," he said. "I want our students to be more proactive in coping with the problems they face. It's not something that somebody can do for them, but a task that students themselves tackle."

Chung stressed the growing importance of having a multifaceted view of talents and abilities over a monolithic view of giftedness based simply on high intelligence.

Korea University has strived to improve educational training and other programs to help its students broaden their perspectives, knowledge and skills beyond their majors.

Role of universities

Universities no longer define themselves only as institutions that focus on teaching and research in traditional ways, as demands for personal and professional development are growing.

Of course, the higher jobless rate for young people is not simply a problem of young jobseekers or educational institutes, but involves comprehensive social, cultural and economic issues.

Advancement in technology and science requires higher education institutions to diversify their educational methodology, such as by introducing programs to set up and run startups.

Chung said that students need to "cultivate problem-solving skills" as problems occurring in workplaces can be multifaceted, complex and not easily dealt with through only knowledge acquired in classrooms.

"To this, a process of learning through extracurricular activities in addition to curriculum activities is necessary. That's why we are operating programs where students can experience the establishment of startups," he said.

Korea University has operated Anam Campus Town, an innovative business-incubating program on entrepreneurship for its students to support the planning and execution of various business ideas and projects.

A group of entrepreneurs, experts and trainers are engaged to help students start businesses, get technical and financial support and develop problem-solving skills. An investment fund is also being prepared for student start-up teams to receive seed money from the very beginning.

"I think it's very important for students to experience failures while they are young. It's very meaningful. That's the reason for the business incubating program," Chung said.

The school not only provides practical internship opportunities to students who have successfully completed an employment academy program, but also supports paid internships through matching start-up teams in related fields currently active through the campus town project.

Korea University has been actively pursuing the formation of strategic partnerships with companies to increase options and opportunities for students.

Last year, Korea University joined hands with SK hynix to create a semiconductor engineering department. It plans to keep creating new departments in line with changing corporate demands for new skills and technology.

For instance, it will set up a next-generation telecommunications department in cooperation with major domestic firms such as Samsung Electronics.

Seen is Korea University's Anam campus in Seoul. The university has introduced various academic and nonacademic programs and activities to provide students with an environment where they can have diverse experiences and do experiments. Courtesy of Korea University

Fourth Industrial Revolution

The ongoing digital transformation in all industries calls for higher education institutions to meet the demand for new skills and knowledge.

"What future education should focus on is helping students enhance their thinking and execution capabilities," Chung said. "It is necessary for students to develop the power to think and judge on their own."

Korea University created the Institute of Data Science in 2020. Students from any major can take lectures on AI and machine learning provided by the institute.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution is triggering innovative technological advances and the innovative reorganization of all industries at an unprecedented pace. It is not easy for students to prepare themselves for the upcoming upheavals under the traditional education system.

The school's Institute of Data Science offers programs covering a comprehensive understanding of artificial intelligence-related planning tasks such as big data, machine learning and deep learning, as well as essential specific practice content for back-end and front-end development tasks.

Through the program, students majoring in humanities also have opportunities to experience real programs used in practice in industrial fields.

To apply digital transformation to education and the educational environment, the school has offered AI programs such as "AI Senior," a personalized subject recommendation service, and personalized thesis recommendation services.

It also operates other AI-related programs through a "smart campus," providing an educational space in a metaverse environment.

"I think students' participation is the most important factor. I hope it will be an opportunity to experience how the digital transformation is used for future education through participation and communication," Chung said.

Students work together to make an electric vehicle at "KU-makerspace" during a contest at the school. Courtesy of Korea University

Convergence Talent

Korea University has made efforts to cultivate talent with convergent thinking capabilities through dual majors, "convergence majors" and student-designed majors that transcend academic fields.

Korea University operates what it calls the Convergence Education Promotion Committee, an innovative body composed of faculty with expertise in convergence, to analyze the problems of existing programs on convergence and come up with revitalization plans.

Chung said students should develop their capabilities to tackle problems through multi-faceted and convergent perspectives and approaches.

"These days, companies need talented workers with the abilities to solve problems. The problems facing companies are getting more complex and problem-solving abilities are becoming more crucial," Chung said.

He asked his students to engage in extracurricular community activities with students of different majors. "I hope they will have new experiences and embrace new challenges for development and growth."

Importance of togetherness

Chung stressed the value of togetherness, asking students to take interest beyond themselves.

"I want our students to prepare themselves for the future not alone, but together. I truly hope they will expand their interest from themselves to society to humankind," he said.

The expansion of their interest should start from their experiences, he said. "There are many problems with education in our country. Elementary and secondary education do not play a proper role, and the focus is on college admissions for higher education."

After entering university, the reality is that students have not experienced much, because they have only received a passive and formal education so far.

"Activities and initiatives are needed to pioneer the future on their own. When they expand their interests through various experiences, the future will be different," Chung said.


The writers are student reporters for The Korea Times. Jeon Yae-wool, the producer of The Korea Times Weekly, also contributed to this article.