Chonnam National University 'AI', Chosun University, Dongshin University Alliance, etc.
National Korea Maritime & Mokpo Maritime University 'One Country, One Maritime University'
Ministry of Education to Select Up to 10 Final Universities in September
In the final round of the Ministry of Education's 'Glocal (Global+Local) University 30' project, four teams from universities in Gwangju and Jeonnam were selected for preliminary designation.
According to the Ministry of Education on May 27, the Glocal University Committee selected Jeonnam National University, Chosun University+Chosun Nursing College (integration), Dongshin University-Chodang University-Mokpo Science University (alliance), and Korea Maritime & Ocean University+Mokpo National Maritime University (integration) on this day.
Jeonnam National University, with President Lee Geunbae personally serving as the head of the Glocal University Promotion Committee, established an innovation plan under the slogan "AI Revitalizes Culture and Humanities, Culture and Humanities Nurture AI." The university aims to build an AI convergence education system across all academic fields and to establish a startup ecosystem.
By leveraging the characteristics of Gwangju as a city centered on AI and as a cultural capital, the university proposed integrating AI into all fields, including engineering and the humanities, and building a collaborative research foundation with regional universities such as Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) and Korea Institute of Energy Technology (KENTECH).
Chosun University set its vision as "Well-Aging Asia Number One University" in response to a super-aged society, and proposed building three specialized systems: biomedical sciences (Bio-Medi), age-friendly technology (Age-Tech), and lifelong medical services (Life-Care).
While previously forming alliances with other universities, this time Chosun University plans a phased integration with Chosun College of Science and Technology and Chosun Nursing College, which are under the same foundation, and will introduce a unified president system.
The Dongshin University-Chodang University-Mokpo Science University alliance aimed to create a regionally based public small but strong university alliance UCC (University Community Collaboration) innovation model by establishing a carbon-neutral smart cluster to revitalize local industries.
Korea Maritime & Ocean University and Mokpo National Maritime University, both national universities, applied with the "One Country, One Maritime University" strategy, aiming to specialize in the maritime industry and foreign languages.
The Gwangju University-Honam University alliance, Gwangju Women's University, Songwon University, and the Mokpo Catholic University-Daegu Catholic University-Busan Catholic University-Catholic Sangji College-Catholic Kkottongnae University alliance were not selected in this preliminary round.
The Glocal University project, launched in 2023 and concluding this year, is a system that designates world-class regional universities to promote mutual growth between universities and their local communities, providing up to 100 billion KRW in national funding per university over five years.
Jeonnam National University was selected for preliminary designation for the second consecutive year but failed to make the final list, while Chosun University did not pass the preliminary stage. The Dongshin University alliance passed the preliminary designation last year but was not included in the final list.
This year, 18 teams (25 universities) nationwide were selected for preliminary designation, and up to 10 universities are expected to be finally selected in September.
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