On February 23, the Office of Educational Innovation & Planning held the 2023 University Innovation Support Project Achievement Forum, highlighting the outstanding results of the initiative

The University Innovation Support Project (UISP) is designed to propel Kyung Hee’s innovative efforts to nurture the next generation of leaders for Industry 4.0. Since the UISP’s adoption in 2018, the Office of Educational Innovation & Planning has been running various programs tailored to future societal shifts and trends in higher education, supporting a variety of activities aimed at fostering university innovation. The forum was streamed live on the University’s official YouTube channel, creating a space to share success stories and encourage collaboration and dialogue among stakeholders to tackle challenges related to university innovation.

In his congratulatory address, Vice President Choong Seon Hong of Student Affairs said, “The University Innovation Support Project has enabled Kyung Hee to grow remarkably across various fronts, including educational innovation, research advancement, and infrastructure development, reflecting our commitment to stay ahead of the curve. We are determined to keep pushing forward and innovate through challenges.”

Highlighting success stories, including experiences of exploring global universities or participating in ESG idea competitions
Seven standout cases were highlighted. For instance, Student Gooyoon Chung (2nd-year master's student) of the Department of Advanced Materials Engineering for Information & Electronics spent six weeks in the lab of Professor John A. Rogers at Northwestern University in the United States. While there, he contributed to projects involved in developing wireless wearable hearing aids and 3D pressure sensors for wireless blood pressure monitoring. Student Chung, who co-authored the published articles as a result of this experience, remarked, “The overseas experience was immensely beneficial to my research. I hope more students can get the chance for similar opportunities.”

The KHU ESG Committee shared insights from organizing the 2023 Kyung Hee ESG Idea Competition. They discussed follow-up plans based on winning entries and showcased group award-winning projects. Student Boyeong Cheon (Global Communication, ‘19) noticed the rising elderly population and the growing demand for digital education, leading her to devise the idea of offering digital education opportunities to local elderly communities.

The forum also shared various initiatives such as the KHU Global Ambassadors for CES program, which represented Kyung Hee at the CES exhibition. Other presentations covered examples of student-tailored social career support programs, an academic recovery competition, a forum for advanced technology-based learning experiences, and major education courses based on SDGs/ESG principles.

The forum for advanced technology-based learning experiences presented how Kyung Hee is making headway into the convergence of VR, AR, Metaverse, and other technologies across diverse disciplines such as medicine, nursing, engineering, and foreign languages to enrich educational content. The discussions also explored the development of immersive content post-Covid-19, resulting in advanced technology-based educational content since the 2022 academic year, which has led to positive outcomes in student learning. In the 2023 academic year, five colleges provided advanced technology-based educational content to students.

A case study from the Department of Clothing & Textiles illustrated how SDGs and ESG principles are integrated into major education courses. The department’s socially valued education course aims to reduce environmental impact in the fashion industry and improve working conditions, fostering future leaders who understand sustainable environmental development and contributed to achieve net-zero emissions or carbon neutrality in the fashion sector.