Share this article on...
Contact Us
- Report errors or inaccuracies topmba@qsnetwork.com
- Contribute articles contribute@qsnetwork.com
- Advertise advertise@qsnetwork.com
Inha University, Korea (QS Campus Report - April 2007)
Inha University has, until now, not been considered in the THES – QS World University Rankings. Considering that they are regularly placed 9th in the Joong Ang Daily Times domestic ranking of Korean universities, and the THES – QS list includes 15 Korean institutions, they are understandably not content with the current situation. Accordingly they invited us to visit their campus and examine the institution’s quality.
Inha University is based in Incheon, a satellite city to the capital, Seoul, and home to the new Incheon International Airport, opened in 2001. The university is owned by a foundation established and maintained by the Hanjin Group, owners of Korean Airlines and one of the world’s largest shipping and logistics companies. As a result, Inha, counts amongst its attributes the country’s only dedicated school of logistics. The affiliation with the Hanjin Group and Korean Airlines is much more evident on campus than the connection with Samsung appears to be on the campus of Sung Kyun Kwan University – the first plane purchased by the airline serves as a monument in the heart of the campus.
Innovation
We arrived at Inha just in time for our first appointment, in the impressive Memorial Library, built in memory of the founder of Korean Airlines and considerable benefactor of the university who passed away in 2002. Aside from the general architectural appeal of the library – the roof of which is designed to be reminiscent of a student’s graduation cap – tucked away in an upstairs room is an experience to be remembered. The university houses Asia’s only working demonstration of RMI (Remote Media Immersion), developed in partnership with the University of Southern California.
RMI is a new web technology designed for streaming extremely high quality video and 12.2 channel “immersive” audio through the internet so that you can truly believe you have been transported elsewhere.
It seems that the university does a lot of work in this field. We also visited a lab specialized in Display Technology where projects contracted by both Samsung and LG were taking place. Another lab we visited was focused on the development of printed circuit boards using optical circuitry as opposed to conventional copper. The influence of this work could be dramatic, enabling components to communicate much more quickly and over much greater distances.
We had lunch with the President, who is at the beginning of his second four-year term in the position, and a number of his senior staff. It is clear that they all hold him in high esteem and that he has initiated significant change at the university. He has also founded an international alliance of universities, currently called the GU8 Consortium of which Inha is a part, along with institutions in the US, France, Israel, China, Japan and Australia. Globalisation again, it seems, is at the top of the list of strategic focuses for another Korean university.
The beginning
Inha University began life in 1954 as an Engineering College and was established at the bequest of Korean immigrants to Hawaii – the name itself comes from an abbreviation of Incheon and Hawaii. Engineering is still very strong at the university with 19 engineering majors offered at Inha, but other schools and faculties including a business school and the aforementioned school of logistics have since been added.
The campus is a pleasant environment with eclectic modern architecture; student dormitories are nearby and the staff members we met seemed dedicated, professional and proud of their institution. They are bidding for the opportunity, like Yonsei, to build a campus in Songdo International City (part of the Incheon Free Economic Zone) and may have an advantage over some bidders due to their specialization in logistics and the proximity of IFEZ to the airport.
Study Abroad