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Sung Kyun Kwan University, Korea (QS Campus Report – April 2007)
When visiting KAIST in January, we were invited back to Korea to visit Sung Kyun Kwan University, but they did not expect us to take up their invitation so soon.
Upon being collected at our hotel we were given some basic information about the university as we travelled the thirty minutes or so to their campus, which is close to the centre of Seoul. We were given some basic facts about the university. One of the first, and perhaps most striking, is that the university was originally founded in 1398 making it 609 years old – an old university by any standards.
Of particular interest also, is that SKKU is now owned by Samsung Electronics – the largest and most well-known company in Korea. This is a relationship which goes back many years, although perhaps not to the 14th century, and lends some major advantages to the university; not least the exchange of intellectual property between the company and the faculty at the university.
THES – QS World University Rankings
Possibly the most common reason for being invited to campuses is that a university is concerned by their position in the THES – QS World University Rankings. This can be caused either by our being unable to gather adequate data on their university or simply because their university is not internationally competitive. If the former is true, as is the case with SKKU, it is difficult to assess the latter but it is certainly the case that SKKU has globalization at the very top of its agenda. With the right contacts and the right data the next set of results may reveal a little more.
Our first appointment was with the Vice-President for Planning who explained some of SKKU’s strategies for globalisation; in particular, their Vision 2010 which includes being recognised as one of the Top 100 universities in the world by 2010.
The general performance in international rankings is not as good as they themselves would hope for, or even expect, and they all seem to be working very hard to rectify this. The evidence is clear from the level of construction taking place on most campuses – including SKKU. The site for their new international building is visible from the Vice President’s office, as well as the office next door – that of the President.
Medical school
The President, Jung-Don Seo, joined SKKU as the inaugural Dean of its new medical school in the mid-nineties. In five years he led the medical school from its inception to being amongst the leading medical schools in Korea, making him a natural choice as President of the university when the time came. We only had a few minutes with him, but it was clear that he is driven to see SKKU recognized amongst the world elite. It is, perhaps, no coincidence that his office overlooks the construction site of that particular facility - the international building.
We didn’t have time to see a great deal of the main campus but the fact that it is nestled in the foothills of the mountains on the edge of Seoul and flanked on one side by forest gives the campus an immediately different feel. The grounds and buildings are well kept – to the extent that the campus is listed as a potential future national heritage site. SKKU also has another campus, about an hour outside Seoul, and they have facilities enabling students to take courses on the other campus via video feed.
Everything seems to be moving in the right direction for SKKU, but they have a lot of dynamic competition both in Korea and abroad. Perhaps making a little more of their unique relationship with one of the world’s most well known electronics giants could help give them an edge. Given the performance of Korean institutions in general, to date, it seems ambitious to expect to see them in the top 100 in just three years time, but as with many Asian universities I have visited, their resolute determination would seem to make it only a matter of time.
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