Incheon National University finally settles into its role

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Incheon National University finally settles into its role

Incheon National University President Park Jong-tae [INCHEON NATIONAL UNIVERSITY]

Incheon National University President Park Jong-tae [INCHEON NATIONAL UNIVERSITY]

When Park Jong-tae was appointed president of Incheon National University (INU) in May 2021, he recalls the school being “unsettled.” It was a year into the Covid-19 pandemic, but no one seemed to know how to weather the storm.
 
Looking back, it was those difficult circumstances and uncertainty that instilled a greater responsibility in him, Park recently told the Korea JoongAng Daily in an email interview.
 
During the conversation, Park, the third president to take office at INU, explained how the university was striving to leap forward and make a change in local society and beyond.
 
The following are excerpts from the interview, edited and condensed for clarity.
 
How was the past year serving as the president of INU?
I tried to focus on stabilizing the unsettled atmosphere I sensed on campus when I first began my term, using that as momentum to get things done. When I became president, I promised to work like a conductor — to mediate between different opinions and maximize capabilities. I’m proud to say that the school has made great accomplishments throughout the last year, which gives me even more responsibility to do better going forward.
 
What have you managed to accomplish?
We reformed our school curriculums to enable our students to study more advanced courses in their majors, encourage them to take up multiple degrees and continue their studies in graduate school. We also created a virtual classroom to step up efforts in establishing a virtual campus in the metaverse, and building on this, we’re planning to design a metaverse studio and lab to experiment with different content. We’ve also tried to strengthen the research capabilities of our labs by designing a step-by-step development strategy for each facility and helping them put those strategies into practice. As a first step toward building a research-based university, we increased student enrollment at our graduate school and invited more researchers. By December 2023, we plan to finish construction of a complex that will hopefully boost on-campus research and development. By mid-June, a second library will open its doors. Development plans for our Jemulpo Campus are in the works, as well. Other than that, INU has received about 63.8 billion won [$50.5 million] worth of external financial resources through the government financial support project, and last year we were designated as a General Financial Support University through the government’s University Basic Competency Evaluation, which made us eligible to receive about 15.3 billion won through 2024. In addition, we came in 26th in the 2021 World’s Universities with Real Impact ranking system, and 20th among Korean universities in the 2022 Times Higher Education World University Rankings. Last April, we won the Grand Prize among Korean national universities in a brand assessment ranking organized by New York Festivals and a local news outlet.
 
INU seems to be really invested in growing alongside the local community.
In principle, universities must play key roles in education, research and industrial collaboration, but at the same time, we must never overlook the quintessential role of contributing to the growth of the local community. INU received so much support from Incheon citizens when we went from being a private university to a city-backed university to a national university. Now, it’s time for us to give back.
 
How are efforts to establish a college of medicine coming along?
More than 142,000 people signed our petition for the goal and we’re discussing the plan with [Incheon’s] Yeonsu District Office. Amid the growing importance of public health care in preparing for new infectious disease risks, it’s pertinent that we eliminate any possible medical vacuums that may emerge from weak public health infrastructure, a core reason why INU is hoping to build a college of medicine. We’re hoping to rally support from the public to that end.
  
What are your plans for the remaining three years of your term?
Throughout the rest of my time as INU president, I hope to build a research-based university system. Among Seoul National University and five other major national universities in Korea, INU is third in terms of the average number of publications in international academic journals per full-time faculty member. Yet, most of those publications are individual research. I’m hoping to increase group research projects and design a sustainable research system so that we can better our chances of winning large research project contracts from the government or corporate sector. Another initiative I’m looking forward to is establishing a department focusing on cutting-edge technology or some other specialized field, and having that department represent INU. On the Jemulpo Campus, the school will canvass opinions from local residents and devise a development plan that allows us to co-exist with them in harmony. INU is a national university located in the Seoul metropolitan area. It’s a vibrant university with a young faculty, a university with high growth potential and lots of talent capable of creating future profit. Ultimately, I want to take INU to the next level, creating a university admired by everyone.

BY LEE SUNG-EUN [lee.sungeun@joongang.co.kr]
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