Glocal College of Korea National Changwon University Pre-Designated... "Focusing Efforts on Final Designation"

Gyeongnam National University of Science and Technology (GNTECH) has been selected as a preliminary designated glocal university.

GNTECH announced on the 16th that it was included in the preliminary designation results of the glocal university announced by the Ministry of Education and the Glocal University Committee.

Changwon National University.
Photo by Lee Seryeong

Earlier, on the 22nd of last month, GNTECH submitted its glocal university innovation plan and preliminary designation application.

The plan included a vision to build the Gyeongnam higher Education Grand Integration belt (GEGI) by integrating Gyeongnam Provincial Geochang College and Gyeongnam Provincial Namhae College, and forming alliances with Korea Elevator University, Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute, and Korea Institute of Materials Science.

On the 8th of this month, a business agreement was signed at the university headquarters' second-floor conference room to promote the integration of the glocal university with Geochang College and Namhae College, and the three presidents signed a university integration agreement.

The three universities agreed to complete all integration-related procedures by December 31, 2025.

The integration will be achieved through deliberations within each university's decision-making system and obtaining consent from their members.

Additionally, a university integration task force will be formed and operated to specify the university integration application and prepare detailed implementation plans for the integration.

Kim Jae-gu, President of Gyeongnam Provincial Geochang College (front row, left), Park Min-won, President of National Changwon University, and Noh Young-sik, President of Gyeongnam Provincial Namhae College, are holding the university integration agreement signed at the business agreement ceremony for the 2024 Glocal University Promotion University Integration.
[Photo by National Changwon University]

Source: Daily Hankook (https://daily.hankooki.com)

Furthermore, the agreement specified that the integration would actively cooperate and jointly respond to national and local government university policy areas to become an innovative model for national balanced development and sustainable regional co-growth.

With the final selection as a glocal university, GNTECH plans to build the Gyeongnam higher education grand integration belt and ultimately join and lead the alliance-type grand integration within the Gyeongnam RISE system.

President Park Min-won said, “Gyeongnam National University of Science and Technology, Gyeongnam Provincial Geochang College, and Gyeongnam Provincial Namhae College will secure bold innovation and competitiveness to play a central role in Gyeongnam higher education and lead regional win-win development through university integration and alliances with regional innovation institutions.”

He added, “We will devote all university capabilities until the official designation as a glocal university to leap forward as a university with world-class specialized fields leading regional development, comprehensively reforming university structure and operation methods to meet regional and industrial demands, educating the talent needed by the region, and leading roles such as industry-academia cooperation hubs.”

The Ministry of Education plans to designate 30 local universities outside the metropolitan area as glocal universities by 2026 to flexibly respond to the declining school-age population and rapid industrial structure changes and to nurture talent tailored to local communities.

Each university will receive about 100 billion KRW in funding over five years, along with priority application of regulatory innovation, expanded investment ties with local governments and cross-ministerial cooperation, and designation as specialized local universities under Article 17 of the Act on the Promotion of Local Universities and Balanced Regional Human Resources Development, among other supports.

A total of 109 universities submitted 65 preliminary designation applications for the 2024 glocal university project, and 20 innovation plans (preliminary applications), including GNTECH’s, were selected.

The preliminary designated universities, including GNTECH, plan to submit execution plans for official designation in July and await the final confirmation results in August.