Sungshin Women's University pushes flexible education to meet changing social needs

Sungshin Women's University is rethinking how it responds to the demands of the era of artificial intelligence (AI) — not by endlessly adding new departments, but by tearing down the walls between existing ones.

President Yi Seong-keun said universities face constant pressure to keep pace with rapidly changing social and industrial needs, but warned that the reflexive response of creating new departments for every emerging field can simply replace old academic boundaries with new ones.

“Society is constantly asking universities to respond to changing needs, but we cannot do that with rigid ways of thinking,” Yi told The Korea Times in a recent interview. “Just as students must adapt to a changing world, universities must evolve with them.”

That approach is already reshaping Sungshin’s academic structure. The university has expanded into AI and other advanced fields through its AI Convergence Department and College of IT Convergence, while a new Department of AI Convergence and Semiconductor Engineering will begin admitting students in 2027. Enrollment in advanced fields under the College of Creativity and Convergence will also increase from 41 to 73.

But Yi sees those additions only as part of a bigger picture.

“Creating new departments is not the only answer,” he said. “A new department can itself create another barrier.”

Flexibility over structure

The university is therefore placing greater emphasis on flexible academic pathways that allow students to cross disciplinary boundaries and study emerging fields without being tied to a single department.

At the center of that effort is Sungshin’s interdisciplinary linked-major system, which allows the university to introduce emerging fields such as mobility and battery engineering without creating separate departments. The university has also lowered barriers to changing majors and expanded cross-departmental credit recognition, giving students greater flexibility to shape their studies.

Yi described the approach as part of a broader push to cultivate flexible intelligence — the ability to move beyond established ideas and explore new ways of solving problems.

“Creativity means solving problems in ways that are different from what has been done before,” he said. “And creativity comes from flexible intelligence.”

That emphasis on flexibility also extends to Sungshin’s major-free admissions system. Students entering the College of Creativity and Convergence have a year to explore disciplines across the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences and engineering before choosing their academic path, while modular programs offer access to emerging fields such as AI, semiconductors and K-culture.

The shift comes as Sungshin marks its 90th anniversary and seeks to broaden its academic profile under a vision of becoming a university stronger in science and technology. The university is expanding into AI, semiconductors and other technology fields while building on its traditional strengths in the humanities, social sciences and arts.

Keep humanities at arm's length from AI

Beyond restructuring its curriculum, Yi wants to redefine how students learn in the AI era, shifting the university away from lecture-centered education toward a more research-driven model.

“Simple lectures will disappear,” Yi said. “Universities should become platforms where research and discussion lead to creativity.”

At the center of that shift is a planned Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program, inspired by a model at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which would give undergraduates opportunities to participate directly in research rather than leaving such work largely to graduate students.

Yi described the direction as “education by research” and “research-based education,” with students learning by investigating problems, exchanging ideas and developing solutions themselves.

The university is also considering measures to strengthen its broader research environment, including adjustments to faculty teaching loads, incentives for publishing in top-tier journals and additional support for high-performing researchers.

The push toward research comes as Sungshin has seen gains in key indicators. Between 2022 and 2025, SCI-level publications per full-time faculty member more than doubled, while domestic and international patent applications and registrations rose more than fourfold, from 31 to 130, university data showed.

Yi also calls for a discipline-specific approach to AI education, rather than applying the same model across the university.

Fields such as business, political science and psychology can increasingly harness AI for analysis and decision-making, he said, but the humanities should play a different role.

Instead of focusing on how disciplines such as philosophy, history and ethics can make greater use of AI, Yi believes they should maintain some distance from the technology and help students grapple with the human and social challenges emerging from its growing presence in everyday life.

Such disciplines, Yi said, can instead help students navigate the human consequences of technological change and consider what it means to live well in an increasingly AI-driven society.

“I think the humanities should move somewhat farther away from AI,” Yi said. “They should address the social and human problems that can arise from AI and help point people toward healthier ways of living.”

Sungshin is applying a similar approach to internationalization, which Yi views not as a separate strategy for university growth but as part of everyday campus life.

The university has worked to remove barriers for international students, including making academic administration services available in English, while expanding opportunities for domestic students to study abroad.

Sungshin's International School of Korean Culture and Technology, established in 2025, reflects that approach with programs tailored to international student demand. Current majors include Global Korean Studies and Beauty and Fashion Design, with Global Media Contents and AI Business among the areas planned for expansion.

“Universities must be able to change as society changes,” Yi said. “What matters is giving students the flexibility to explore new fields, think for themselves and find new ways to solve problems.”