On June 15, The Korea Economic Daily published an interview with President 토토사이트 세션 Ki-jeong of Hanyang University.

As Korea faces a steep decline in its school-age population, universities are increasingly grappling with existential challenges. By 2040, t토토사이트 세션 number of prospective university applicants is expected to drop to about 230,000, roughly half t토토사이트 세션 current admission quota of around 450,000.

President Lee Ki-jeong believes this demographic crisis can be addressed through strategic talent development. “Hanyang University will take proactive steps to transform itself, prove its relevance, and prepare for the future,” he said. In this era of the “dual brain”—where both human intelligence and AI capabilities are essential for competitiveness—Lee is committed to cultivating talent capable of achieving the productivity of two people. Hanyang University plans to invest heavily in building a robust industrial ecosystem, grounded in its tradition of practical education.

The interview began with an example from Professor Yoo Young-man of the Department of Educational Technology. President Lee recalled, “While using generative AI like ChatGPT to write an article, I realized that good output starts with good questions. Professor Yoo felt the same way and asked his students to come up with five questions about the course content as their final exam.”

The creative nature of this task yielded impressive results. “Professor Yoo could gauge student engagement simply by reading their questions,” Lee explained. “Some questions even brought up crucial issues he hadn’t considered himself.”

This experience led President Lee to appreciate the value of inquiry. “It got me thinking: how can we teach students to ask better questions? That’s how we launched the ‘Looking for Problem Students’ project,” he said.

This initiative is a question competition that seeks students who can formulate Big Questions—queries that may have no clear answers but spark critical thinking and social innovation. Inspired by this idea, President Lee introduced Korea’s first university-level questionathon, the “Hanyang ASKTHON,” in 2023. Selected students receive awards based on the originality and relevance of their questions.

One standout entry asked, “At what level of certainty do people make decisions?” According to Lee, this question was chosen as a winner last year and received high praise from corporate judges from companies like Kakao and Coupang, who noted, “This is the kind of talent we want to hire immediately.”

Korean education has long been criticized for discouraging questions, and President Lee is determined to change that. “In Korea, it’s normal for students not to ask questions during class. I wanted to change that culture by developing a model that fosters inquiry,” he said. This effort gave rise to Hanyang’s QBL (Question-Based Learning) model.

“Hanyang’s educational philosophy is ‘Teach Less, Learn More,’” he continued. “Professors are not just lecturers; they’re facilitators who help students ask questions and discover answers on their own. This is a bold attempt to shift the paradigm of university education, which has remained largely unchanged for the past 900 years.”

He also spoke about the newly launched “Hanyang Intercollege Division,” a key initiative since taking office. “I have always emphasized boundaryless education,” he said. “Students don’t just enter as undeclared majors. We’ve introduced interdisciplinary programs exclusive to the division, including Medicine Future, Semiconductor Engineering Future, Cognitive Convergence Science, and Future Society Design.”

As Korea’s youth population declines, international students are becoming increasingly important. With approximately 8,300 international students, Hanyang has the highest number among Korean universities. “In China alone, we have a network of 10,000 alumni,” Lee noted. “But now we want to move beyond quantity and focus on improving quality.”

He added, “In an age of population decline, we must leverage international talent. It’s not enough to just recruit international students; we must nurture them into high-performing professionals and integrate them into our talent pool.” International graduate students now account for 30% of Hanyang’s research output—a figure the university aims to grow.

President Lee also pointed to Hanyang ERICA Campus’s industry-academic cluster as a standout example of innovation. “The ERICA campus has transformed the regional image of Ansan City,” he said. “It hosts institutions like the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology, LG Innotek’s R&D campus, the Kakao Data Center, and even the Entegris Korea Technology Center, establishing the area as a hub for cutting-edge R&D.”

He emphasized that these partnerships create win-win scenarios for both companies and students. “Companies bring real-world problems into our classrooms. Professors and students work together to solve them through team-based projects. The companies get solutions, and students gain valuable experience.”

President Lee also highlighted Hanyang’s vibrant startup ecosystem. “DoctorNow, a digital healthcare startup, and QANDA, an AI-based education platform, both started here,” he said. “Last year, we had 18 faculty-led and 100 student-led startups, with KRW 8.5 billion in technology transfer income—the highest among Korean universities.” These successes are helping shift perceptions of foundational fields like engineering as areas of opportunity.

Finally, he shared his thoughts on college admissions. “University entrance exams should not be a mechanism for selecting the highest scorers, but a gateway to discover individuals with potential,” he said. “We need to move away from a system where a student’s entire future hinges on a single test day. Expanding written assessments and portfolio-based evaluations will help us select students more holistically and autonomously.”