Sejong University, Dongguk University to launch joint degree program for intelligent IoT

Sejong University President Eom Jong-hwa, left, poses with Dongguk University President Yoon Jae-woong after signing an agreement on a joint degree program at the Sejong University campus in Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of Sejong University

Sejong University and Dongguk University have signed an agreement to launch a joint degree program aimed at nurturing convergence skills in the field of intelligent Internet of Things (IoT).

The agreement was signed by Sejong University President Eom Jong-hwa and Dongguk University President Yoon Jae-woong at the Sejong University campus in Seoul Tuesday.

Sejong University said Wednesday that the agreement is part of the interuniversity joint degree initiative promoted by the Internet of Things Convergence and Open Sharing System (IoT COSS) Consortium.

The IoT COSS initiative is funded by the Ministry of Education and supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea.

Building on the Standard Curriculum for the Department of Intelligent IoT jointly developed by the consortium, the two universities will establish the joint degree program.

Both institutions have developed the curriculum in cooperation with three other member universities of the consortium. Led by Sejong University, the consortium includes Dongguk University, Daejeon University, Jeju National University and Cheju Halla University.

Under the agreement, the two universities will launch a pilot joint degree program beginning in the 2027 academic year. Based on the results of the pilot program, the IoT COSS Consortium plans to gradually expand the initiative to other member universities.

Students who complete the curriculum will receive a joint degree certificate bearing the signatures of the presidents of both universities.

Sejong University said the agreement is significant as it represents a concrete implementation of the COSS initiative in the IoT field by integrating academic curricula and academic systems across universities.

By linking the academic systems of the two universities based on the standard curriculum, students will be able to receive the same high-quality intelligent IoT education and earn a joint degree regardless of which university they attend.

“The skill this joint degree program aims to cultivate goes beyond simply producing interdisciplinary professionals,” Sejong University President Eom said.

“Our goal is to nurture ‘star talent’ equipped with expertise, collaboration skills, AI convergence capabilities and research and development competencies, and ultimately develop professionals who will lead the era of autonomous IoT beyond intelligent IoT,” he added.

Dongguk University President Yoon echoed the sentiment. “We will fully leverage our educational and research strengths in IoT application design, intelligent mobile robotics and data analytics to ensure that students at both universities receive the same high-quality education and earn a joint degree of equal academic value throughout their studies,” he said.