"Next Year's Operational Goal: Development of an 'Integrated Online and Offline Education System'"

[Interview] Park Sang-gon, Head of Digital Innovation Division at Korea Productivity Center
Customized Training for Learners Applying Latest Technologies like AI and Big Data

Sanggon Park, Head of Division

"We are developing an integrated online and offline education Learning Management System (LMS) with the goal of launching it next year." Park Sang-gon, Head of the Digital Innovation Division at the Korea Productivity Center (KPC), is accelerating the establishment of a mobile-based LMS amid the growing attention to untact (non-face-to-face) technology due to the COVID-19 pandemic this year. The system incorporates the latest technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and big data to recommend customized education for learners and continuously manage various related data. In addition, instructors are supported in creating necessary content, and a space is provided for learners to communicate. Once this development, targeted for completion in February next year, is finished, it will bring a major innovation to KPC’s education system, which operates over 5,300 courses annually for about 250,000 people.

Park said, "In the LMS market, competitors include Samsung Multi-Campus and Hunet," adding, "We have integrated employees’ ideas into the existing system to discover new features." Although starting late, they expect a better system. Until now, KPC had separate online and offline education systems that were not integrated, making management difficult and preventing synergy. The strategy is to integrate these systems and secure online competitiveness as the strongest player in the offline industrial education market.

The LMS development is one of the various digital transformation projects Park has promoted since joining KPC. An IT expert with experience in foreign and large companies, Park was recruited last year and reviewed tasks for the vision of 'Digital KPC,' believing it was necessary to make the vague concept of digital transformation tangible for members. At that time, many places in the Productivity Center lacked wireless internet (WiFi). He explained, "By working to bring digital closer to members, we enabled them to experience successful cases of digital transformation through the introduction of cloud-based collaboration solutions and the establishment of a job matching platform."

Especially, the 'Job Matching Platform' launched this year to solve the mismatch of manpower in small and medium-sized enterprises reflects new attempts by him and the KPC Digital Innovation Division. AI technology was used to match job seekers and companies, and a blockchain system was integrated to manage certificates and transcripts. Park explained, "The competencies required by companies are automatically extracted, making it easier for job seekers to manage their credentials and for companies to find the talent they need." This created a demonstration case using AI and blockchain technologies that once seemed distant. Park judged that for such digital innovation at KPC, ideas from all members must be integrated into the overall picture. This is why ideas submitted by employees through contests are reflected in major projects. He said, "Examples of ideas from members include a supervisor management app needed for certification execution and AI marketing projects being conducted as in-house ventures."

Along with the LMS development, KPC’s education system is being reorganized to fit the changing educational environment. The recently launched microlearning dedicated service, 'KPC Gwanghwamun Class,' is a representative example. Park said, "Existing e-learning programs do not suit the younger generation, so we created 5,000 clips of about five minutes each and built a system to learn them." Through this, KPC plans to support employees in the untact era to learn quickly and timely, while linking with existing offline courses to provide effective integrated online and offline education programs.

Park also emphasized the need for methodologies that match the level of small and medium-sized enterprises pursuing digital transformation in the post-COVID era. He said, "Digital transformation should not be approached as something difficult; proposals should fit the company’s circumstances," adding, "There are various ways to integrate digital technology, so it is important to experience how even small changes through digitalization can make a difference."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.