By Kim Jae-heun
Konkuk University is making a new leap forward for the Fourth Industrial Revolution era.
Since the government selected Konkuk University as a leading school to promote the state-led Program for Industrial needs-Matched Education (PRIME) project in 2016, the university has made significant changes to meet the needs of future society and industries.
The university has undergone systematic reforms in education programs to put emphasis on the idea of convergence, which is believed to be the core strategy in the forthcoming hyper-connected society.
Establishing the Konkuk Institute of Technology is the most notable outcome.
The institute focuses on cultivating students specializing in prospective fields such as biotechnology and information and communication technologies (ICT). The institute's eight departments recorded an average high competition rate of 19.51 to 1 in the school's early applications last year.
The eight undergraduate departments are energy engineering, smart ICT engineering, stem cell and regenerative biology, integrative bioscience and biotechnology, smart vehicle engineering, cosmetics engineering, systems biotechnology, and biomedical science and engineering.
Apart from the PRIME project, Konkuk University was picked as a leading school for the government's “LINC+” project last year, which aims to cultivate biotechnology specialists.
It is also reforming its education programs focusing on software technology. The government has picked Konkuk University as the pioneer in the software-centered university project and promised to provide 6.6 billion won throughout the next four years. Depending on the outcome, the school can receive up to 10.6 billion won more support.
Konkuk University will increase the number of students majoring in software programs to 203 from the current 143, starting from 2020.
Konkuk is also helping students develop their ideas into products.
The university established a cutting-edge education infrastructure named Smart Factory in May, where students can share ideas and make products, regardless of their major.
Previously, only students majoring in a related field could use the school's laboratories, but the school has opened the space for anyone. Konkuk University said it benchmarked the Fab Lab of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Maker Space of Technical University of Munich.
Both Fab Lab and Maker Space provide high-tech equipment like 3D printers and razor cutters for students making prototypes or handicrafts. Students can share their knowledge and ideas while creating inventions in the open lab.
Smart Factory is also available to any Konkuk students if they receive simple training. Two to three lectures are held at the open lab every week on topics like making products using a 3D printer. The lectures are free of charge.
In May, Konkuk University opened another space called K-LAB, where students can start their own business and conduct experiments.
Not only can students experiment with various ideas there but also professors will be there to give advice to the students.
“K-LAB is a symbolic space that shows our education renovation,” Konkuk University President Min Sang-gi said. “Students will grow into leading experts in the upcoming Fourth Industrial Revolution era through practical experiments in biotechnology and ICT sectors, which Konkuk University is strong at.”
Reuters picked Konkuk University as Asia's top innovative university for the third consecutive year.