'Seoul Future Education Vision 2030' Announced... Preparing for Digital Transformation and Restoring Educational Ladder

Guaranteeing Fair Learning Opportunities, Supporting Lifelong Vocational Skills Development, and Innovative Learning-Based 3 Major Strategic Goals
Youth Edu Tour Experiencing New Technologies at City-Owned Institutions, Pilot Operation of Online Alternative Education Institutions for Out-of-School Youth

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government is promoting the 'Seoul Future Education Vision 2030' policy to address the widening educational gap caused by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and to respond to the digital transformation accelerated by the 4th Industrial Revolution.

On the 28th, Seoul announced the 'Seoul Future Education Vision 2030' under the vision of 'Seoul, a learning city where everyone grows together,' setting three strategic goals: ▲ ensuring fair learning opportunities ▲ supporting lifelong vocational skill development ▲ establishing an innovative learning foundation. These three goals consist of nine policy tasks and 20 core projects.

The Seoul Future Education Vision was established after about six months of in-depth discussions by the 'Seoul Innovation Fair Education Committee,' composed of external experts including education researchers, edutech companies, and field specialists.

First, to ensure fair learning opportunities, Seoul will launch the 'Youth Edu Tour' from next year at three hubs: Yeongdeungpo, Nowon, and Eunpyeong, utilizing various learner resource infrastructures in the city. An online virtual campus called the 'Seoul-type Minerva Alternative Education Institution' will also begin a pilot project next year to guarantee learning rights for out-of-school youth.

Next, as the number of adults dreaming of career transitions into new industries in the digital transformation era increases, existing lifelong education infrastructure will be closely linked with 'vocational education' to transform into 'lifelong vocational education.' The 'Future Citizen School' (tentative name), a lifelong vocational education hub, will open in Jeong-dong, Jung-gu, where the proportion of office workers is high, in 2023. To provide integrated information on lifelong vocational education held by Seoul, the government, and private institutions, related research projects will begin next year. The introduction of the 'Seoul Citizen Scholarship,' which supports education expenses for low-income adults who find it difficult to receive vocational education due to economic reasons, is also being pursued.

By adopting next-generation edu-tech (edu+tech) methods that incorporate cutting-edge ICT technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence (AI), Seoul will establish a system where any citizen can learn anytime and anywhere. A startup hub for fostering the edu-tech industry will also be created.

Using blockchain technology, a 'Learning History System' will be introduced to accumulate and manage personal learning information from courses taken on Seoul's learning platform. Linked with the city's own metaverse platform (Metaverse Seoul) currently under development, the 'Citizen University Meta Campus,' where citizens can attend university lectures in the metaverse, will also open in 2023.

Seoul plans to consult with the city council, central government, and others regarding new projects such as the Seoul citizen education expense (scholarship) support program discovered through the Seoul Future Education Vision, and will establish institutional foundations such as ordinance enactment to implement these initiatives.

Lee Dae-hyun, Director of the Seoul Lifelong Education Bureau, said, "With the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic deepening the educational gap between income groups and the rapid transition to a digital society, it is urgent to prepare future education support policies. We will restore the educational ladder and create a fair education city, Seoul, by realizing policies through close cooperation with related ministries and field experts."

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