Official Launching of ‘Future Universities Forum’

with Nine Universities

 

-Yonsei Contemplates the Future

 

 

 

 

“Universities Should Change First in Artificial Intelligence Era”

 

On June 13, Yonsei University officially launched the Future Universities Forum together with nine other private universities in Seoul, including Sungkyunkwan University and Korea University. The aim of the forum is to promote innovation in higher education and contribute to the new knowledge society through diverse educational programs and research institutions. The ten university presidents also agreed that their institutions should play a key role in shaping the society of tomorrow.

 

 

President Yong-Hak Kim Gives Keynote Address

 

 

In his keynote address launching the Future Universities Forum, Yonsei President Yong-Hak Kim spoke on the topic of “Universities at the Crossroads of Civilization.” President Kim said: “We are currently at the historic crossroads of the fourth Industrial Revolution and the development Artificial Intelligence (AI).” He identified three problems facing today’s universities: a dire financial situation due to an increase in educational costs and a decline in government support for education; changes in the role of humans, such as the revolutionary changes in the production and distribution of knowledge brought about by the development of AI; and a crisis in the identity of the university.

 

In order to address this crisis, President Kim argued: “Universities must reconfigure their identities and achieve autonomy in order to productively develop the country and society. Education must be reformed so that it cultivates students with sympathy and creativity who can meet the demands of a new era. At the same time, research needs to be reinvigorated through interdisciplinary research networks. Lastly, the university needs to lead the way in transforming society by serving the community in various ways.”

 

 

Universities Should Support Student-Initiated Learning

 

Entrepreneurial Education Culture

 

 

Following President Kim’s speech, a special session was held on the role of education and the university in a rapidly changing world. The panelists were Korea University President Jaeho Yeom, Ewha Womans University President Kyunghee Choi, Hanyang University President Young Moo Lee, and Yonsei Univerisity President Kim.

 

The session started with President Yeom, who argued that “universities should change the lecture system in a revolutionary way to meet the needs of the twenty-first century.” President Kim agreed, responding: “An alternative could be ‘active learning’ that helps students to identify and solve problems that interest them instead of teaching them plain knowledge.” He cited the example of practical knowledge-learning in solving the problem of trees being unable to grow at the International Campus in Songdo. Currently, Yonsei is giving grants to undergraduate students who form research teams to solve such problems.

 

President Choi said: “Universities should help students prepare for the future themselves.” She gave the examples of the “Challenge Semester System” and “Self-Planned Major,” which were recently implemented at Ewha. The Challenge Semester System allows students to learn experientially in the community for a semester while fulfilling their course requirements through online lectures. The Self-Planned Major system enables students to design their own majors by choosing a combination of courses.

 

President Lee emphasized the importance of entrepreneurship. He said: “In the future, where uncertainty prevails, universities should do more to promote education in entrepreneurship in addition to majors.” Hanyang University has been providing free entrepreneurship education to fifty students each semester since 2012. Regarding entrepreneurship, President Kim commented: “We need a cultural movement to spread entrepreneurship education in our society, which does not view entrepreneurship favorably.” He added that “universities and the media need to work together. To promote creative education, what matters ultimately is the free flow of communication between the president and faculty members.”

 

The presidents also discussed issues related to preparing for the future. These include fiscal problems faced by universities and the need to raise tuition, university admissions, the autonomy of the university, and inter-university cooperation.

 

Going forward, the Future Universities Forum will be held quarterly to address diverse topics affecting universities and recommend policy changes.