Universities are a place where character building takes place. During my tenure, I want to make sure that Konkuk students are truly grown-ups character-wise.
Korea's education has been changing rapidly. In the past, students were evaluated based on their college entrance exam scores, and universities were ranked. However, today, students' potential and whether the university is specialized or not dictate the institution's global competitiveness. Education experts predict that there will be a seismic shift in Korea's higher education, so those who sit on their laurels and fail to adjust would be unseated by specialized universities.
On the basis of this, Konkuk University has seen remarkable changes in the past four years. First of all, by putting a high premium on reinforcing research capability, adding substance to education programs and promoting globalization, Konkuk University is deemed to have laid the foundations for joining the ranks of the top-notch universities in Korea.
The President of Konkuk University, Oh Myung has been concentrating on IT diplomatic activities. He has been engaged in IT diplomacy with South America and Africa to provide aid in the form of IT knowledge. "Whenever I go to these nations, I run into the same questions over and over again. They are taken aback by the fact that S. Korea whose economic power was almost the same as theirs 30 years ago has emerged as the world's 15th largest economy. They are eager to learn Korea's expertise and knowhow, and want their nations' development blueprints modeled on Korea's rapid economic growth," said President Oh. By taking advantage of Korea's experiences with IT development and knowhow, President Oh has provided support for IT development and informatization to both Colombia and Paraguay and made efforts to ramp up cooperation and exchanges with the two. Furthermore, he is reaching out to African nations including Rwanda.
In particular, President Oh has been involved with spreading Korea's IT experience and expertise and supporting the development of information & communications technology. For example, in cooperation with domestic IT companies, he has donated computers to underdeveloped nations. He has recently opened a Korea-Paraguay Information Access Center in Asunción National University and is working on thrashing out an IT master plan. He foresees that all the efforts will lead to paving the way for cross-border cooperation in building Paraguay's e-government projects and e-learning and e-health care systems; and for Korean companies to make inroads into the South American market.
President Oh mentioned, "The best way to expedite the development of these South American nations is not to help build roads and bridges but to teach them our IT experiences and knowhow while assisting in nurturing their own IT industries. The anticipated outcome of this kind of support and cooperation is Korean companies' smooth entry to the South American market and more business opportunities for Korean IT companies. This prediction is highly likely to come true because South America will have IT infrastructures built based on the IT development blueprints, which was crafted in part by Korean IT professionals. In the end, Korea will remain as an IT suzerain state."
How Korea has emerged as an IT suzerain state
"In Korea, 84 percent of the high-school graduates go to college. Indeed, we have a stronger educational zeal than any other nation. The white-hot zeal, in some ways, has actually been the driving force behind Korea' rapid development. The modernized world had embraced the agricultural revolution, the Industrial Revolution and the information revolution in due order and Korea had welcomed its own industrial revolution with open arms in the 1970's and the 1980's.
In particular, Korea's IT industry made a quantum leap thanks to drastic market-opening policies and the privatization of data communications. And the Korean government has joined forces with private companies to press ahead with the development of 4-mega semiconductors, super-mini computers, CDMA, not to mention today's Wibro technology. Such endeavors, I believe, have translated into Korea becoming a global IT powerhouse." explained President Oh.
Korea, armed with optical-based, fast Internet networks, has been jacking up national competitiveness in computer networks and work efficiency in both the corporate world and Korean society with the help of Korea's ubiquitous IT technology. While Japan was negligent of informatization, Korea, led by informatization pioneers in the 1980's, funneled an average 3.5% of GDP to R & D (research and development) so as to achieve IT ubiquitousness. What worries President Oh is that Korea's social conflict has yet to be eased.
As evidenced by some reports that say Korea has spent nearly 27% of GDP on addressing social conflict, social conflict runs deep between different social brackets and regions. President Oh explained this is largely due to individuals' character, rather than the gaps between the haves and have-nots and between the well-educated and undereducated.
Konkuk puts character building before everything else
"Universities are a place where character building takes place. During my tenure, I want to make sure that Konkuk students are truly grown-ups character-wise. I would like to place higher education on the solid foundations of character building and culture in order to foster well-liked, highly cultured intellectuals. Above all, we aim to nurture Konkuk students into human beings who blend well with organizations, are willing to sacrifice themselves for others and have a flexible way of thinking. What I truly want to hear is that Konkunk University provides good education and produces sound, democratic, well-disposed and highly-cultured citizens. For universities, research is indeed important - but the provision of educational substance is all-important. Therefore, I will work hard to hear that Konkuk graduates are intellectually and mentally grown-up." stressed President Oh. "The fact that corporate recruiters these days search for genuine grown-ups strikes a chord with me. This is because in an era of materialism and individualism, young generations are less willing to integrate into organizations and contribute to society compared to their parents." he said.
The most rewarding of all to President Oh was the news that Konkuk graduates on some company's payroll got great reviews in term of personality, so that the company this year picked four times as many Konkuk graduates as in the previous years.
Konkuk University's path to betterment
"Ready-made education systems and university stratification do not guarantee a bright future for Korea's higher education. Specialization and efficiency should be pursued in areas each university is best at. Showing respect for academic autonomy, our faculty members and students have made adjustments to their interests like an aircraft carrier fine-tunes its direction in order to add substance and specialism to our education programs. To educate students well and produce excellent talent is the very goal of education and the most cherished value of university." said President Oh who has been proceeding with ambitious projects designed to put Konkuk University on a par with first-class universities.
President of Konkuk University, Oh Myung is deemed one of the technocrats who turned Korea into an IT powerhouse. President Oh has been making a pitch for brand "Konkuk" based on his ample, diverse experience that was obtained by assuming numerous ministerial positions - including Deputy Prime Minister & Minister of Science and Technology - and by serving as Chairman of the Organizing Committee for Daejeon Expo, President of KBO (Korea Baseball Organization) and president of a news outlet. President Oh's management philosophy is autonomy and responsibility.
His radical managerial style, well described by the following: "On the surface, large rivers are serene - but under the surface they run in a turbulent manner," puts emphasis on internal changes. Also, he is well-known for working vigorously on tight schedules that some exaggerate are organized on a second-by-second basis. President Oh said we should be most wary of what has been considered as normal practice. He stressed that we should prepare for the future with a new set of values that cherish dedication to schools and students.
The following is an excerpt from Korea IT Times's interview with President Oh.
Q) Konkuk University is indeed rated highly in various assessments.
A) "When it comes to reinforcing research capability, Konkuk University's programs are very groundbreaking. Three KU Global Labs -- which were set up in collaboration between Nobel Prize-winning university professors and a Konkuk research team -- are marching step-by-step forward obtaining world-class research achievements. KU Global Labs allow the Nobel laureates to do research along with Konkuk researchers on Konkuk campus. Thus, I believe that good results will be produced in the foreseeable future. Besides, young blood, who have done research work with distinguished professors at overseas universities, have recently joined our faculty on a large scale. So, I think our research capability will be significantly improved within a few years. As for the WCU (World Class University) program, which has awarded at Konkuk University for six research projects, the results of our joint research projects with world-renowned professors have started to appear in academic journals."
Q) There seems to be a lot of joint research projects between Konkuk University and international research institutes.
A) "Noteworthy is the globalization of our research networks. At the end of last year, our university built three clean rooms which are generally found at places like semiconductor production lines of Samsung Electronics. I guess they symbolize our expanded international research networks. The first clean room is for the lab where next-generation quantum devices are being developed under the WCU program, another is for the lab which was built in cooperation with a Finnish research institute VIT to conduct research on next-generation displays and electron-beam lithography technology. And the last clean room is for the lab that was built in collaboration with Germany's Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE to research next-generation solar cells. As I have mentioned, by building joint labs with leading research institutes, Konkuk University has been forming global research networks with prestigious universities, research institutes, and multinationals in a variety of fields, ranging from next-generation displays to new technologies for information and communications.
Q) The Fraunhofer- Konkuk Next-Generation Solar Cell Lab, set up under the auspice of the Seoul City government, has been talked about quite a bit.
A) "Yes, that is true. The Fraunhofer- Konkuk Next-Generation Solar Cell Lab presents us with a golden opportunity to produce excellent research results in collaboration with a world-class research institute. The joint research partnership with Konkuk University is the Fraunhofer Institute's first in Asia and second globally - its first pick was Harvard University.
Konkuk University -- which has already been a step ahead in terms of conducting research on next-generation growth engines -- has indeed laid the groundwork for leading the global research on third-generation solar cells. If we acquire the technology for organic solar cells that are deemed smarter than the existing silicon-based solar cells, we can make more contributions than semiconductors to the Korean economy."
Q) What is KonKuk University's differentiated strategy for globalization
A) "Competing solely with domestic rivals has no meaning whatsoever. Thus, we send our students to other nations and take part in a lot of foreign and exchanges. In addition, there has been an increase in the number of international and exchange students who join our diploma programs. As a result, the index for globalization has been revised significantly. As of the first semester of 2010, Konkuk University has forged exchange agreements with 229 universities and research institutes in 40 nations. The number of Konkuk students studying abroad under our foreign student exchange program has continued to increase with 436 in 2008, 604 in 2009 and 858 in the first semester of 2010. We will keep sending our students overseas by practically expanding exchanges with our sister universities and launching projects for boosting educational capability."
Q) We have heard that you have heavily invested in forming networks with China.
A) "With regard to globalization, as the world's dynamic system is going through a makeover, we should walk away from the notion that globalization is equal to English. Rather than going to the Philippines to learn English, we'd better learn Chinese with a long-term perspective. The Chinese students who study together with Korean students and are taught by us will become China's next-generation leaders in 10 to 20 years' time. In response to a growing number of Chinese students, we have invited 16 Chinese professors to teach major classes in Chinese. What's more, to secure a pool of up-and-coming Chinese students on an ongoing basis, we have opened "Preparatory Courses for Study Abroad in Korea," in nine sister schools in China. Our partnerships and networks with individuals and schools in China will help in Korea's advancement and serve as a yardstick to gauge our global competitiveness."
Q) What kind of education system is needed to nurture excellent talent
A) "The future society demands human resources equipped with a self-learning ability that allows people to constantly acquire and apply new knowledge. We are living in an era of convergence (or fusion) and leadership. Those who majored in management need to learn about technology in order to manage properly, while those who studied science and engineering should learn liberal arts and leadership to become managers. In other words, we need to provide converged education. What goes most against the current trend of converged education is the system of Korean high schools that divide students into two groups: liberal arts and science & engineering. We have drawn a clear line between liberal arts and science & engineering so early that this kind of division poses a great obstacle to the development of Korea's higher education and the promotion of human talent."
"When people used 200-word manuscript papers, one that tells his writer friend to use a computer could come across as a person totally ignorant of literature and writing. However, today, writers who don't use computers have no competitiveness whatsoever. Universities should prevent students from solely digging into their majors. In an era of converged education, universities should lower the walls between different disciplines and allow their students to select their majors in a more flexible manner."
Q) What's the strategic direction of Konkuk University's specialization
A) "Our university has gradually carried out restructuring and we have now entered a phase of ensuring internal stability. Discipline-wide restructuring has been executed in stages by consensus. Above all, Konkuk University has been implementing a series of restructuring to come out on top in the field of converged education. We put in place Technology & Management Departments in the first semester of 2009 at our graduate school and have become the first to offer MOT (Management of Technology) education that converges technology with management. We have already opened the Miller MOT School, named after Stanford professor William Miller. On top of that, by launching the MOT/MBA program, we have secured a vantage point among domestic rivals in the field of management of technology.
"In addition, the newly created Digital Culture & Content department picked its first batch of freshmen this year. The department's popularity was demonstrated by the competition rate: one out of over 70. Besides, we created the Division of Quantum Phases and Devices dedicated to studying cutting-edge memory devices in physics. Also, with the convergence of IT, bio technology (BT), space technology (ST) and nano technology (NT), Konkuk University has fostered world-class research teams in a bid to enhance the value of brand "Konkuk."
