Позитивные изменения. Том 3, № 3 (2023). Positive changes. Volume 3, Issue 3 (2023)

Shifting from mere knowledge dissemination to embracing convergence and digital technologies, exploring innovative educational formats, fostering industrial-academic partnerships among universities, and equipping graduates with a global mindset — how do South Korean universities envision their third mission? In response to a request by the Positive Changes Journal, Elena Kim has compiled an overview of trends emerging from the IX Forum of Rectors of Leading Universities in Russia and the Republic of Korea. Since 2013, leaders of Russian and South Korean universities have convened annually at the Russia-Republic of Korea Dialogue (RRKD) Civil Society Forum. Here, they discuss pressing topics related to scientific advancement, university collaboration, academic mobility, and the universities’ evolving role in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The most recent Forum of Rectors, held in late 2022, was dedicated to educational innovations and the third mission of universities in both countries. The forum took place online and was organized by Korea University, a prominent institution in the Republic of Korea.

Elena Kim

Employee at the Department of Psychology, National Research University Higher School of Economics

Much like Russia, South Korea is increasingly recognizing the significance of the third mission in contemporary university life. Forum participants from the Korean side have identified several pivotal trends pertaining to the third mission:

1. A transition from merely passing on knowledge to the cultivation of global competencies among young professionals, encompassing convergence and proficiency in digital technologies, especially AI.

2. The exploration of new educational formats.

3. Universities actively forging industrial-academic partnerships.

4. Equipping graduates with the ability to think within a global context, focusing on environmental stewardship, fostering inclusive societies, and, most importantly, upholding and embodying human values.

Let’s delve deeper into these trends and explore how they contribute to the realization of the third mission of universities.

GLOBAL COMPETENCIES

CONVERGENCE

In the realm of education, convergence is defined as students’ ability to think expansively beyond the confines of their core disciplines. This can manifest itself in the creation of new disciplines at the intersection of existing subjects, or in the amalgamation of disparate fields under a single course, where one is incomplete without the other.

For instance, Kookmin University in Seoul offers an interdisciplinary program in ceramics and chemistry. Since the application of lacquer is integral to ceramics production, and lacquer production relies on chemical reactions, a profound understanding of chemistry is imperative for working with ceramics. Consequently, these two courses are interwoven.

Each university embarks on its unique journey to implement convergence within its educational processes. In essence, South Korea’s educational landscape is committed to uniting diverse realms of knowledge, crafting innovative courses that encompass multiple subjects, and giving students the ability to safely navigate the interdisciplinary landscape. For instance, Korea University in Seoul has placed a strong emphasis on the convergence of technical and humanities disciplines, pioneering educational programs at the intersection of four, five, and even six traditionally disparate disciplines. Meanwhile, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul fosters “creative convergent thinking and decision-making skills” in its students, as highlighted by its Rector Park Jeong-Woon.

It is conceivable that the fervent drive for cross-disciplinary integration is a natural response to the ever-escalating wave of digital technologies. These competencies hold promise in ensuring that, in the race of technological advancement, young professionals can navigate the terrain without ceding ground to artificially generated models.

From the perspective of the third mission, professionals endowed with these competencies are poised to move swiftly and adeptly in interdisciplinary spaces, seamlessly transitioning between tasks, and proving exceptionally effective in addressing unconventional challenges.

PROFICIENCY IN DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES

In the contemporary educational landscape, digital literacy isn’t just a skill; it is essentially a fundamental necessity. Comprehensive academic or research endeavors are not conceivable without IT expertise. It starts with the requirement to enroll in courses exclusively through a student’s personal account online and extends to gaining access to global repositories of scholarly data.