Yonsei University Medical Center announced on the 30th that it ranked 1st in South Korea and 43rd globally in the 2024 Times Higher Education (THE) Clinical and Health field evaluation. This is the second consecutive year it has secured the top spot domestically.
THE, established in 1971, is one of the most prestigious global university ranking organizations and has published world university rankings annually since 2004. The evaluation indicators for the Clinical and Health field consist of five categories: educational environment 26.8%, research environment 26.5%, research quality 35.2%, international outlook 7.5%, and industry (income & patents) 4%.
Yonsei Medical Center has been continuously investing and implementing various programs to strengthen research and education.
Yonsei University College of Medicine is expanding excellent research infrastructure centered around the Avison Biomedical Research Center and actively recruiting outstanding young faculty members every year. Additionally, it receives support from BK21 and the Research-Oriented Hospital project to focus on revitalizing basic and clinical research. It also operates physician-scientist training programs and research-focused professor systems that support clinicians to concentrate on basic medical research based on clinical experience. A representative research funding program is the Team Science Award, which provides up to 1 billion KRW annually for up to four years to selected project teams.
In education, to reduce excessive competition among students and enhance teamwork, Yonsei introduced the learning community system?the first among Korean medical schools. This system connects faculty advisors with students, where advisors provide tailored education such as monitoring study plans and supporting career exploration, while students study together to address weaknesses, conduct research, and participate in extracurricular activities like volunteer programs.
Yonsei University College of Dentistry operates programs such as the Young Eagle Program, which allows students to experience basic research processes in advance, an advanced artificial intelligence course related to AI and data science, and the E-Dental College, which offers excellent dental lectures to dental alumni. To enhance research capabilities, the college conducts various research projects, acquires the latest research trends and technologies, and strengthens collaborations with world-class research centers.
Yonsei University College of Nursing has continuously made systematic and strategic efforts to strengthen research competitiveness. Aiming to enter the global top 20 by its 120th anniversary in 2026, it analyzes research outcomes annually and shares the results to hold focused workshops for improving research excellence. It has established a collaborative research environment centered on four key research clusters: international nursing and population health, aging health, innovative nursing technology, and symptom science.
Yonsei University Graduate School of Public Health is enhancing research competitiveness by expanding research offices and personnel, focusing on creating research infrastructure for faculty members. To improve educational conditions, it has established guidelines for major-specific courses and enhanced education quality by recruiting top experts in the health care field and opening new courses.
Yoon Dong-seop, Director of the Medical Center, stated, "This ranking reflects the results of various programs prepared and operated to nurture the next generation of scientists and educators." He added, "We will continue to achieve excellent results not only by staying on campus but also by collaborating with external expert groups in diverse fields such as precision medicine, artificial intelligence, and big data."
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