Jung Da-hyun is a reporter at The Korea Times, covering social issues in Korea, including foreign residents, education, environment and politics. Driven by a deep interest in people’s stories, she focuses on investigative and feature reporting through direct interviews and field coverage. She received the Amnesty International Korea Media Award for her “Deepfake Crisis at Schools” series. Reach her at dahyun08@koreatimes.co.kr. Always open to hearing your stories.
AI era spurs overhaul of universities and their global rankings
Participants of the 16th University Ranking Forum of Korea pose during a forum at Ewha Womans University in Seodaemun District, Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of Ewha Womans University
By Jung Da-hyun
Experts warn Korean institutions are rising in research strength but still lag in global collaboration
As artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes the global higher-education landscape, long-standing university ranking systems are under pressure to move beyond static, output-driven metrics and better account for how institutions innovate and build digital capacity.
The 16th University Ranking Forum of Korea (URFK) on Thursday examined how global university rankings must evolve in the AI era — and where Korean universities currently stand.
“Evaluations are an opportunity to reaffirm a university’s core mission and future vision,” Ewha Womans University President Lee Hyang-sook said in her opening remarks.
Launched in 2014 and held annually since, the URFK brought together around 100 higher education stakeholders and global university ranking experts this year.
A poster for the 16th University Ranking Forum of Korea / Courtesy of Ewha Womans University
For universities, rankings now function as more than a competitive tally. They signal an institution’s academic direction, the robustness of its research environment, its social responsibility and its commitment to nurturing future professionals.
As universities grapple with AI-driven transformation, a deepening demographic crisis and rising global competition, experts and ranking officials said the ranking system itself must also evolve. With AI reshaping how universities operate and innovate, they argued that evaluation frameworks need to reflect new models of management and long-term sustainability.
“Today, universities must move beyond simply transmitting knowledge,” Lee said. “They must become creative platforms that produce new ideas, technologies and value — and cultivate the talent who will lead the future.”
Cho Dong-sung, chair of the World University Rankings for Innovation (WURI) Foundation — a system that evaluates universities based on real-world impact — highlighted that rankings must shift toward a more dynamic, mechanism-driven and real-time model.
“Traditional rankings are output-based and static, so they fail to capture a university’s capacity for transformation in the AI era,” he said.
Cho noted that AI is reshaping both evaluation standards and the fundamental role of higher education, stressing that universities must build sustainable operating models rather than relying on government funding or short-term financial support.
As ranking systems prepare for shifts driven by digital technology and AI, experts say global competitiveness is also critical — especially as countries intensify efforts to attract top experts from around the world.
Phil Baty, chief global affairs officer at Times Higher Education (THE), said Korean universities continue to excel in industry income and patent-related indicators, underscoring their strong partnerships with major corporate R&D.
This advantage, however, is beginning to narrow, not because Korea is slowing down, but because other countries are rapidly strengthening their own innovation ecosystems.
“Korea’s dominance in industry-linked funding is now relatively declining as global rivals close the gap,” Baty said.
He warned that Korean universities continue to face significant hurdles — most notably internationalization.
“Korea still falls well below global averages in attracting international faculty and producing internationally co-authored research, both of which are key drivers of rankings and global reputation,” he said.
Baty said Korea’s constrained international collaboration is dragging down citation performance and eroding the country’s position in the global research ecosystem. Enrollment of foreign students is a relative bright spot, he added, but gains vary widely by institution.
Ben Sowter, senior vice president of Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), echoed similar concerns. While noting significant long-term gains in academic and employer reputation, he highlighted that demographic decline and intensifying global competition require Korean universities to redefine their strengths and sharpen their global engagement strategies.
"The growing importance of international research networks — now a key metric in QS rankings — has become a particular pressure point, with some Korean universities only recently beginning to improve in this area," Sowter said.