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2015 New Year's Address 2015.01.01

January 1, 2015
 
  Respected Yonsei family, 
 
 The new year of 2015 has dawned. May peace and happiness be with your family in the New Year and I hope all your wishes come true. As we greet the morning of the New Year after sending off the old, we come to realize the meaning of life once again with the verse, "The old has gone, and the new is here!" (2 Corinthians 5:17). 2015 will be a monumental year as we share the joy of the 130th anniversary of Yonsei’s foundation, while celebrating the 100th anniversary of modern higher education that began at Yonsei. It is my sincere wish that Yonsei University, which had first introduced modern medicine and higher education in Korea, can leap towards the world’s leading university this year against the solid ground of its centurial history. 
 
2014 to set a new paradigm for higher education 
 
  I would like to wrap up the year of 2014 with an old saying, Guemseokjigam (今昔之感), meaning a sentiment caused by the contrast between the past and the present. In 2012, I came up with the new vision for Yonsei, the “Third Founding”, as I was inaugurated as the President. Feeling a sense of crisis, I spent many sleepless nights as I faced the winds of change in Korea's university community and field of higher education, as well as the internal challenges of Yonsei. 
 
 I had made a bold promise to transform Yonsei’s biggest pending issue of the International Campus from a large debt into a potential asset to lead our school’s future. Without any concrete plans, we had initial discussions on the basic teaching curriculum to be implemented at the new campus. Over the past three years, our International Campus has consolidated the foundation as a model that leads the new paradigm in Asia’s higher education, in addition to becoming the educational hub of Asia that accelerates Yonsei’s leap towards becoming Asia’s World University. 
 
 The splendid achievement of 2014 that successfully implemented the Residential College (RC) system was led by all faculty and 4,000 first year students working in harmony. Within only eight years, the massive land of 930Km2 was developed into commercial property to hold buildings with total floor space of 307Km2, where 5,000 students live and learn together. Such miraculous accomplishment is without precedent anywhere else around the world. I would like to refer to such glorious accomplishment as God’s grace. The miracle was a fruit of hope led by each person’s sincerity and faithfulness. I believe that in the near future, the pillars of Yonsei, who learn Yonsei’s spirit through living, learning and exchanging cultural activities and teaching together, will embrace and serve others to move the world. I would like to extend my deep gratitude to all faculty members at all Yonsei’s institutions, including the International Campus, University College and Underwood International College. 
 
Yonsei leaps towards the world’s Top 20 University 
 
 Yonsei’s rapid advancement through the Third Founding has been well reflected on the international university rankings. In 2014, Yonsei was ranked in the Top 80 on the Times Higher Education Reputation Rankings for the first time in history. It was also ranked in the Top 20 among all private universities in the world, while ranking No. 1 as the Best Private University in Asia. On the widely recognized QS World University Rankings, Yonsei jumped from 129th in 2011 to 106th in 2014, closely reaching the top 100. 
 
 Furthermore, our university has joined the Association of East Asian Research Universities (AEARU) to strengthen multilateral cooperation with other top research universities of the world. Yonsei also established the G10 Consortium with Princeton University, Cornell University, King’s College London and University of Geneva to advance teaching and student exchange, as well as international research cooperation, pivoting around East Asian studies. Yonsei’s stature as a leading global university is being actualized through the diversity of international students coming from all around the world. In 2014, international students from 103 different countries were registered at Yonsei, which marked the first time the number of countries exceeded 100 to demonstrate our student diversity. Our main Severance Hospital of the Yonsei University Health System has achieved the record-breaking milestone of ranking No. 1 on the National Customer Satisfaction Index in hospital service for four consecutive years. All faculty members are also striving to bring our medical services to the world-class level. 
 
New change in 2015: Strengthening leadership in research 
 
 Yonsei’s pursuit of the Third Founding will continue in the New Year as we celebrate the 130th anniversary of the school’s foundation. In particular, research-based knowledge creation has become a prominent value and responsibility of all universities. To strengthen the basic mission of a university, research excellence, while establishing leadership in the area of research, we will be implementing various research support policy and incentives. We will also devote all our efforts to secure stable research funds. We will specially expand and develop advanced research areas, while discovering and supporting challenging and innovative research. 
 
 Beginning last year for the next five years, Yonsei University has been undertaking future-leading research projects and international cooperative research, which are the largest size to date, by investing 25 billion KRW as internal research funds. In addition, we launched joint research projects with other universities such as the Seoul National University and University of Geneva to resolve impending social issues. In the New Year, we will continue to put more stress on the book-writing in humanities and social sciences faculty evaluation, in addition to proactively supporting strategic research institutions. We will also expand our research space to build better infrastructure, while advancing the research administration support system. Furthermore, we will be inviting six Nobel Prize winners this year to broaden the horizon of academic research exchange. 
 
 We will also intensify our university-industry partnerships to strengthen our research capabilities. As the first example, we will be opening the Barun ICT Research Center by receiving 10 billion KRW in research funds from SK Telecom to investigate social side effects of the expansion of information and communications technology. It will also be proposing alternative policies that can contribute to desirable social value creation. In addition, with financial support from Eugene Group, we will be establishing the Institute for Sinology at the International Campus to conduct systematic multidisciplinary research about China’s politics, economy, society and culture in the fields of humanities and social sciences.
 
Moreover, Yonsei University will be establishing the Global Institute of Sustainability Studies (GISS) to methodically research the subject of sustainability, a critically emerging issue for the future of the Earth. Through interdisciplinary research, GISS will be investigating sustainable development, natural disasters and environment, as well as clean technology. By cooperating with other international organizations such as the United Nations’ Office of Sustainable Development and Green Climate Fund, established at the International Campus in Songdo, we will advance the GISS as Asia’s best sustainability research institute. 
 
 We will also strengthen the research function of Yonsei’s medical center as research-centered hospitals, and facilitate inter-campus and multidisciplinary research. At Wonju Campus, we will continue to reliably foster interdisciplinary areas such as medical and biology, based on combination of life sciences, health studies and biomedical engineering, as well as environmental engineering, modern Korean studies, poverty alleviation and international development. 
 
Expanding world-class teaching: Establishment of the Global Leadership Division and Global Institute of Theology
 
  In the New Year, Yonsei University will concentrate all capabilities to realize high-prestige education to become Asia’s World University by launching the Global Leadership Division (GLD) and the Global Institute of Theology (GIT). The GLD, scheduled to open in March 2015, will be raising specialists who can understand the Korean language, culture, society and economy at a deeper level, to sublimate Korean values in the global field. It will advance into Korea’s first specialized and leading teaching program to foster Korea-related specialists, targeting outstanding international students and overseas Koreans. The GIT, which will open in March this year in Songdo, will become the country’s first theological graduate school for international students. We have partnered with the religious community to provide full scholarships to all of the 30 students to raise Christian leaders in religiously-isolated regions in Asia and Africa. Through the GIT, Yonsei University will be able to raise the next Underwood to be sent to other parts of the world where Christian missionaries are scarce. 
 
Yonsei’s teaching infrastructure to undergo groundbreaking transformation 
 
The Third Founding initiative will continue in 2015 to innovate various teaching programs and curriculums, in addition to reforming the educational infrastructure through groundbreaking projects. In particular, space for learning, medical services and culture will be reborn throughout our campuses as we celebrate the 130th anniversary together. The Baekyangro Reconstruction Project, currently in progress amid a blaze of publicity, will first make its appearance as ecofriendly green space in the second semester of this year. At ground level, a green park suitable for four seasons will be built, while Yonsei’s long-beloved trademarks, such as the gingko tree trail, Eagle Statue and azalea garden, will remain in place. At the underground level, cutting-edge academic and cultural space, such as the Kumho Art Hall and Eagle Plaza, will be newly established at over 13Km2 for infrastructure innovation. The Sinchon Campus will further experience an astonishing change as the parking grounds at the College of Engineering, Baekyangro and Severance Hospital become interconnected, while heating and cooling system using terrestrial heat at 530m below the surface. 
 
  I would like to thank our 14,000 alumni, parents and other Yonsei supporters for donating 38 billion KRW for the Baekyangro Reconstruction Project. Our Baekyangro project fund has raised a record-breaking amount in terms of the monetary value and also the participant number. It is my sincere wish that 30,000 alumni (10% of our entire alumni community) will partake in the act of giving to finish this project together as the Yonsei community. 
 
 In addition to Baekyangro, each campus is undertaking various reconstruction works to advance its teaching and medical facilities. Our Wonju Severance Christian Hospital will drastically transform once the ambulatory care unit and trauma center are completed. The long-awaited new buildings for School of Business and expansion of College of Science and College of Engineering buildings finally come to fruition during the first half of 2015. Moreover, additional construction works for Jejung and Beophyeon Residence, Foreign Faculty Residence and College of Engineering, as well as the International Campus’ outdoor theatre that can seat 4,000 people, will all begin shortly. We are also trying our best to begin constructing a biomedical science complex, which has been delayed due to licensing issues. Yonsei will no longer experience shortage in research and teaching space once we complete these internal construction projects and implement the joint usage system of space. 
 
 This year, we will also complete the establishment of the Smart Campus Network to improve the educational environment’s infrastructure. The newly implemented ICT infrastructure will support effective teaching and research, while enriching the culture of Yonsei. The new platform of Open Campus eXperience (OCX) will be put in place to share all academic, cultural and art activities, enabling all Yonseians to access Yonsei’s academic and cultural videos anywhere and anytime. We will also introduce a new academic information system and reform the outdated course registration system. Furthermore, Yonsei will be the first university in Korea to simultaneously join the massive open online courses (MOOC) platforms such as Coursera and FutureLearn to supply our school lectures alongside other leading schools of the world. It will be opening a new chapter for Yonsei education’s internationalization. 
 
Creating a new campus culture 
 
 As I proposed the Third Founding, I had suggested that for Yonsei to become a world’s leading university, the most important value we should seek after is “Excellentia cum Dignitate” or “excellence with dignity”. For us to continue establishing our reputation as the best university in Asia, the pursuit of academic excellence shall become the first priority, followed by creating a culture and ecosystem of academic communities that cherishes and actualizes such values. 
 
 For all decision-making and codes of behaviors, the pursuit of academic excellence should become the core value. To actualize this objective, we need to make conscious efforts to create a thoughtful, encouraging and healthy academic and research community. We will proactively strive to foster such campus culture, while maintaining our value of respecting excellence and dignity in administration, human resources and compensation. 
 
 Respected Yonsei family,
 
 Yonsei has been steadily walking the long and far journey over the past 130 years to pursue the truth and freedom. In the Year of the Sheep in 2015, we will continue to make new history. However, making new history is not an easy task. Our pioneers who had founded Jejungwon and Yonhi College had sacrificed everything during the period of tribulation for our nation, by implementing the Western knowledge, ideas and the Gospel through agony and repentance. 
 
 The legend of Aeneas, who left behind the fallen Troy and became a progenitor of Rome, is also a widely known history of challenge. Despite massive injuries, he was returning to the battlefield and told his son, "Learn fortitude and toil from me, my son, Ache of true toil. Good fortune learn from others". He opened the new chapter of Rome as a giant who embodies courage and distinction. 
 
 To establish a new history of The Third Founding, we shall all overcome challenges as our pioneers of Yonsei did with much discernment and the spirit of sacrifice. As illustrated by Aeneas, we shall resolve the challenges laid out before us with courage and distinction, instead of relying on fortune. May 2015 be the “Year of Yonsei Giants” where new history will be made for the next generations to lead the upcoming 150th and 200th anniversary of Yonsei. As I wish for all communities to cooperate to create virtue that can propel Yonsei’s history-changing, I send my New Year’s regards for all beloved Yonsei family members. May your new year be filled with joy and happiness.

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