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New Year's Greetings for 2017 2017.01.02

January 2, 2017

 

 

Respected members of Yonsei,

 

The New Year has dawned. As we leave behind the troubles of 2016 and welcome the year of 2017, the year of the Red Rooster, I wish each and every one of you good health and happiness by the grace of God.

 

Last year, we saw how the foundation of our nation was shaken and we experienced social chaos as a result of collapse of social trust.  Yonsei University also had its own share of difficulties. I look forward to a new year in which we overcome whatever difficulties we may face and safeguarding the Yonsei spirit while leading new changes to move toward an “inherited future.”

 

In my inauguration speech last February, I pronounced the present era as one of civilizational transformation and emphasized the need to change fundamentally the university model of the industrial society era. After almost a year of term in office, I unfortunately sense deeply the dual crises faced by Korean universities. They are not only unable to lead societal changes but are unable to adapt to civilizational transformations. Consequently, instead of being respected by the society, universities have fallen to be subjects of criticism. The breaking of implicit social contract between universities and society is not only a crisis for Korean universities but for the entire society as well. It is now time for universities to reflect on its role and rebrand itself as the beacon of society.

 

At the same time, Korean universities face problems caused by low research capacity, weak fiscal structure, and common practices of division and rivalry. These problems could become new opportunities depending on our efforts. We need to envisage Yonsei in a new role by turning this crisis into an opportunity. We need to share the dream of Yonsei leading the way to the future, and Yonsei as a university respected worldwide. Realizing this dream is our responsibility and our mission.

 

The first step towards that dream had already begun. We took the bold step of decentralizing the university operation and are in preparation for the autonomous operation of individual unit organizations. Currently, departments and colleges are working on plans to strengthen research capacity and change the evaluation of research accomplishments that prioritizes quality over quantity. So far, we have established the Integrated Information System, commenced the second phase of internationalization of the International Campus in Songdo, and opened the Industry University Convergence Medical Center.  Diverse measures have been taken for enterprise support. The campus has become environmental-friendly and traffic-free, and it is transforming into a campus full of culture. I myself met with many members of the Yonsei community and listened to various opinions and feedback. These opinions will serve as the basis of healing our community that was once hurt by division and discord.

 

Dear members of Yonsei,

 

In the New Year, we will continue to actively improve Yonsei. Upon inauguration, I decreed the philosophical spirit of the 3Cs (Christianity, Creativity, Connectivity) as the guiding principle of our university. Based on this, I stipulated 10 policy tasks to be completed by 2020 and proposed them under the title of “Future Challenges 10 by 20” (wikireform.yonsei.ac.kr). I will strongly push for these policies which will be completed by the entire Yonsei community. In addition to this, today I will give policy directives to be implemented this year.

 

First and foremost, I will work on integrating Yonsei into one community. This year is the 60th anniversary of the merging of Yonhi College and Severance Hospital. All this while, physical merging between the two had been completed while organic bonding remains unfinished. The time is now for us to complete both the integration and harmony longed for by missionaries Allen, Underwood, and Avison when they first established the school. The first step towards this goal will be made on April 10 – the establishment day of Chejungwon – when we will celebrate the 132nd anniversary of the founding of Yonsei. In keeping with the tradition of celebrating the founding of the school on the second Saturday of May every year, we will hold annual commemorative events such as alumni reunions. In addition to this, we will establish the Global Center for Social Responsibility in the spirit of the founding of Yonsei where both the main Sinchon campus and the Yonsei University Health System (YUHS) can together carry out global volunteer work that has its roots in Chejungwon.

 

We will also push for the establishment of the Bio-Medical Science Park to further deepen the integration of Yonsei University and YUHS.  YUHS being located on the same campus as the Colleges of Medicine, Life Science & Biotechnology, Engineering, and Science is our greatest asset. To fully utilize this, it is important that we combine the education and research of the main Sinchon Campus and YUHS. Together with the completion of the construction of the Chejung Dormitory that would be dedicated in the New Year, the establishment of the Bio-Medical Science Park will complete the organic integration of Yonsei University and YUHS. Ultimately, we will create a truly singular community where the constituent members of Sinchon, Wonju, and International campuses are unified in the name of Yonsei spirit. As part of this, we will create the Faculty Lounge – a space for all Yonsei members to communicate freely.

 

Secondly, we will connect Yonsei by going beyond existing boundaries. I have emphasized numerous times before that creativity is a result of convergence. New research ideas in the future will be derived not from one laboratory in a field, but from the clashes between different knowledges. As such, strengthening convergence is necessary for nurturing creative talents or to come up with research projects that lead in the new era. To create a new education-research paradigm, we started the “Yonsei Junior Convergence Research Support Initiative” under which 10 teams of graduate students kicked off their projects. We also started creative education such as providing research grants to over 40 convergence research teams initiated by undergraduate students themselves. We will expand further our global MOOC - which has grown to be the best in Korea, “Flipped Classroom,” and on-site learning.

 

In addition to convergence research between different disciplinary, we will also actively encourage convergence research with overseas research institutes. By establishing the Yonsei Frontier Lab, we will provide support for our researchers to collaborate with internationally-renowned scholars. Our future lies with the convergence between engineering, humanities, and management, or between medicine, social sciences, and natural sciences. We will prepare for the possibility of big data analysis of medical check-ups and treatment accumulated by the health system. The research results from this analysis would not only strengthen our university’s research capacity but also allow us to fulfill our social responsibility through the raise in the standard of healthcare and improvement of public health.

 

As we celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Residential College (RC) system in Wonju Campus, the very first of its kind in Korea, we will take qualitative innovation in RC including that in International Campus. We will create a stabilized foundation for the sustainable development of the Global Elite Division, which was established last year, and place greater focus on the internationalization of education, including overseas employment in Indonesia through the K-Move School project. Furthermore, we will strengthen the specialization of health and medical equipment by promoting LINC+ project in the field of smart healthcare, and building of medical healthcare infrastructure in Paraguay in cooperation with KOICA. The Wonju Campus Health System that underwent renewal project will also continue to expand through improved profitability and vitalization of convergence research between campuses.

 

Thirdly, we will strengthen Yonsei’s fiscal health. We will further raise donations and create various revenue models. We will expand course programs to meet the rising demand for lifelong learning that contributes to the society while increasing revenues. At the same time, we will introduce the system of aggregate budget to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of budget execution. Individual unit organizations can be able to freely allocate their given budget and and be efficiently evaluated. This system will also contribute to promoting autonomy through decentralization of operation.

 

Respected Yonsei family,

 

Many changes await us in the New Year. In addition to the aggregate budget system and autonomous evaluation of research accomplishment by individual colleges, we will continue to expand the system of autonomous operation through the middle-up-down approach. For these changes to be successful, all Yonsei members must have a sense of ownership of these changes. This is one of Yonsei’s old traditions as well as the calling of our Yonsei constituents in the spirit of Christianity. Only when we give off our best in our respective positions in this God-given university, can we overcome the present crisis to become truly “Yonsei” University.

 

As we welcome the first day of the New Year, I wish that all of us carry a beacon of light amid darkness. Napoleon once said that his greatest secret weapon is “hope.” Many prophets in the Bible and missionaries like Underwood always carried a gleam of hope even under difficult circumstances. I hope that in the New Year, all of us will be filled with optimism and faith as we dream of a “future university.”

 

Once again, may you and your family be blessed by the grace of God.

 

I wish you a happy New Year.