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Dongmyeong University campus located in the downtown area of Nam-gu, Busan.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] Dongmyeong University (President Jeong Hong-seop), located in the heart of Nam-gu, Busan, has maintained a top 10 nationwide ranking in the field of field training (field training participation rate) over the past five years.

Most departments have industry-academic cooperation professors with over 10 years of field experience from companies. Their role is to provide counseling on students' career paths and to find companies for field training where students can be placed.

In short, career exploration begins upon admission at this university. This is the secret behind its high employment rate.

A university is a foothold placed before an individual's career and path. If the foundation supporting life after graduation is solid, the university's role is successful. The practical skills gained during university studies are that foundation.

Hwang Jung-gi, head of the Field Training Support Center at Dongmyeong University, said, “Industry-academic cooperation professors discover good companies and increase participation in field training,” adding, “This is the secret behind the excellent field training indicators among universities in the southeastern region.”

Dongmyeong University has a unique ‘Field Training Brokerage Hub Center’ not found in other universities. Through this, it shares a field training network not only with universities and companies in the Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam (BUK) region but also with those in other regions. The strength of its practical education related to employment and career lies in this infrastructure.

Dongmyeong University also ranked among the top five nationwide in the ratio of students completing entrepreneurship education in both 2018 and 2019. According to a survey conducted by a major central media outlet targeting 56 universities nationwide, KAIST and Hanyang University ranked first and second respectively last year, with Dongmyeong University placing fifth.

Whether in field training or entrepreneurship, Dongmyeong University aims beyond regional boundaries to the national level. Its university promotion strategy sets the goal as “Surpassing the region, abandoning the small self, and achieving greater coexistence through true innovation.”

Dongmyeong University’s aggressive and broad approach is evident in several areas: ▲ the nation’s only brokerage of field training across metropolitan economic zones, ▲ the establishment of joint courses among six universities in the southeastern region through the Shared University Project. It has achieved great results through ‘broad industry-academic cooperation’ that transcends specific universities and regions. These efforts earned it the Minister of Education Award and recognition as an innovation case at related forums.

At the foundation of all this innovation is a control tower: the Dongmyeong University LINC+ Project Group. The vice president serves as its head, reflecting the project’s influence. Vice President Shin Dong-seok, who has led the project for nearly 20 years, received the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Award on December 2 for the ‘Beyond the Region, Achieving Dreams through Cooperation! Field Training Brokerage HUB’ project.

At the 2020 Industry-Academic Cooperation Expo (hosted by the Ministry of Education, organized by the National Research Foundation of Korea), Shin Dong-seok introduced the Busan area’s six-university LINC+ Shared University Platform project as a case of university educational innovation during the Industry-Academic Cooperation Education Innovation Forum.

The activity scene of the On-site Internship Brokerage Hub, operated by Dongmyung University as an industry-academia cooperation program.

◆ Field Training Brokerage HUB: Even Field Training in Busan for Students from Other Regions

In employment, job experience is far more important than simple credentials. Dongmyeong University has maintained a top 10 nationwide ranking in the field training participation rate over the past five years.

It even brokers field training in Busan companies for students from other regions. It has built a platform where students can challenge internships and employment nationwide beyond their local small fences, and companies across the country can cast for prepared talent.

The Field Training Brokerage HUB project matches paid field training for non-southeastern region university students from Seoul, Gyeonggi, Daegu-Gyeongbuk, Honam, and others with companies specialized in the southeastern region, achieving great results.

Over the past three years, it has brokered internships for 102 university students from 40 universities and 52 companies. The internships last from 4 to 8 weeks short-term, up to 12 to 13 weeks long-term, with students receiving activity allowances, practicing in the field rather than on campus, and some receiving academic credit.

Satisfaction rates are high, with 82% of participating students and 96% of participating companies reporting satisfaction. This indicates that field training is thriving in southeastern region specialized industries such as machinery, automobiles, robotics, shipbuilding, logistics, and tourism.

Agreements have been signed with 15 non-southeastern universities (including Chung-Ang University, Sungkyunkwan University, Dankook University, Ewha Womans University, Korea National University of Transportation, Hannam University, Mokpo National University, Hanseo University, Jeonju University, Jeonbuk National University, Honam University, Seowon University, Cheongju University, etc.) and 32 southeastern companies and institutions (including Busan New Port Co., Ltd., KNN, BEXCO, Daesun Brewery Co., Paradise Hotel Busan, Busan Robot Business Association, etc.).

Shin Dong-seok said, “A survey of 3,212 job seekers (conducted by JinHakSa) showed that in the past, about 50% (1,550 people) valued ‘alma mater,’ but recently about 74% (2,223 people) emphasize ‘job experience.’”

He added, “Through the Field Training Brokerage HUB, we plan to expand customized education models that match regional industrial demand so that students gain job experience in southeastern region specialized industries.”

Workshop on Establishing a Shared University Platform for Sharing Courses Among Six Universities in Busan, Including Dongmyung University.

◆ Six-University Shared University Platform: Joint Entrepreneurship Course Opened in the First Semester of 2021

“The era when universities compete to outdo each other is over. A campus stubbornly insisting on its own curriculum is a world inside a well.”

Dongmyeong University made an innovative decision to band together six universities. They decided to open joint courses through cooperation beyond competition.

Dongmyeong University is leading the Busan area six-university LINC+ Shared University Platform project, which is achieving further results. They recently finalized the opening of ‘AI-Based Entrepreneurship Marketing’ as a joint course for the first semester of the 2021 academic year.

Of the 15 weeks in a semester, 9 weeks will be online and 6 weeks offline. The Shared University website will also open fully in January 2021.

This project creates synergy by sharing industry-academic cooperation technologies, educational content, and know-how scattered across each university. So far, it has steadily progressed through stages such as ▲ June 2020 K-MOOC joint content development Start-up Challenge (11 universities in the southeastern region), ▲ October-November I-Korea4.0 education for small and medium enterprise employees (covering AI, smart city, and 6 other fields, with 6 professors from 6 universities participating), and ▲ October Busan City-Busan Area LINC+ Project Group Shared University Platform establishment agreement ceremony.

Participating universities include Busan City, Dongmyeong University, Dongseo University, Dong-A University, Dong-Eui University, Pukyong National University, and Korea Maritime and Ocean University. The project is expected to expand to all universities in the Busan area and link with the Ministry of Education’s Regional Innovation Platform Project and Digital New Technology Talent Development Innovation Shared University Project.

Vice President Shin Dong-seok, leading the Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation at Dongmyung University.

Shin Dong-seok said, “Instead of one professor teaching a course, multiple professors from participating universities will teach using digital-based innovative teaching and learning methods to increase student satisfaction.”

President Jeong Hong-seop said, “Dongmyeong University has established itself as a prestigious employment university through solid industry-academic cooperation,” adding, “This greatly contributed to achieving the highest employment rate (71.8%) among medium and large general universities (with over 1,000 graduates) in the Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam region as of December 31, 2018.”

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