"Metaverse Ko-Yeon-Je Held" SKT Builds 'Smart Campus' with Korea University

[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Jo] "Cheer for the Ko-Yon Jeon (Korea University vs. Yonsei University rivalry match) in the metaverse (3D virtual world), and complete authentication with a single blockchain student ID."

SK Telecom and Korea University have joined hands to build a smart campus. Through SK Telecom's ICT technology and the metaverse platform ‘ifland’, a metaverse-based campus encompassing both the real and virtual worlds will be established at Korea University.

On the morning of the 15th, SK Telecom and Korea University announced that they had signed a memorandum of understanding for the smart campus construction based on these contents. At the signing ceremony held via online video conference, SK Telecom and Korea University agreed to collaborate on ▲building a 5G metaverse-based campus life environment ▲issuing a mobile integrated ID card based on the Initial service ▲establishing a smart energy campus based on the Internet of Things (IoT) ▲building 5G infrastructure and providing cloud-linked services ▲and activating alumni association participation based on messaging services.

The first application of the metaverse will be the Ko-Yon Jeon, which was canceled last year due to the impact of COVID-19. Although the game will be held without spectators, students will be able to gather and cheer together in the metaverse stadium, creating a place for interaction among students.

Korea University students will attend video classes and meetings through SK Telecom’s ifland, and engage in club activities and team projects with avatars that reflect their individuality. SK Telecom explained, "We are considering applying this to some courses with limitations in non-face-to-face settings, such as experiments and practical training," and added, "We also plan to apply the metaverse to various extracurricular activities such as clubs, international exchanges, and social service."

Various mobile IDs such as student ID, alumni card, library card, and dormitory card will be integrated within this year through the blockchain-based Initial application. Currently, these are divided into multiple physical cards depending on their use, but in the future, all identity verification can be done with a single smartphone. When attending lectures in the metaverse campus, authentication can also be done through Initial. Degree certificates, course records, and credit documents can also be issued via the Initial app.

In addition, SK Telecom and Korea University will build a 5G-based ultra-low latency and ultra-high-speed research environment. They will establish a 5G cloud-based research platform and a 5G MEC Test Lab, and set up an ‘IoT Open House’ at Korea University’s Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation to support startups through to the entrepreneurship stage. Furthermore, they will promote achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 through high-efficiency, low-consumption energy conversion based on an artificial intelligence (AI) energy platform.

This collaboration was made possible as the digital innovation policy of President Jin-Taek Jeong, the first engineering college graduate to be appointed president of Korea University, aligned with SK Telecom’s direction of advancing as a digital platform company based on AI and metaverse.

After his inauguration, President Jeong, who launched the smart campus construction team, said, “Unlike the past when technology itself was innovation, now innovation centered on connection and convergence is changing our daily lives and society, enabling sustainable development even in the non-face-to-face era. As the first domestic university to introduce blockchain-based mobile IDs and build the entire campus as a living lab, we aim to collect, analyze, and utilize data generated from the lives of members to promote digital innovation in university education, research, and administration.”

SK Telecom CEO Jung Jong-Ho stated, “This cooperation with Korea University is significant in that it expands the concept of university campuses, which were previously limited to offline, to virtual campuses such as the metaverse,” and added, “Through the application of core technologies such as 5G, metaverse, blockchain, and IoT that SK Telecom possesses, we expect to bring a new wave of innovation to campuses, the cradle of industry and technological innovation.”

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