Seoul Area Specialized High Schools Transition to Meister High Schools...Nation's First Smart Student ID Introduced

Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Announces 4 Key Policies at New Semester Press Conference
Designates 6 Semiconductor Hub Schools... Establishes AI Convergence Career and Vocational Education Center

Specialized high schools in the Seoul area will be transformed into ‘Seoul-type Meister High Schools’ by 2025, and six new ‘Semiconductor Hub Schools’ will be designated to cultivate semiconductor specialists. Additionally, smart student IDs will be introduced in vocational high schools in Seoul, enabling students to manage their own records.

On the morning of the 14th at 10 a.m., Cho Hee-yeon, Superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, announced these plans and three other policies at a press briefing held at the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education. The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education explained that these policies are being implemented to respond to future societal changes such as digital transformation and declining school-age populations.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

◆Plan for Operating Seoul-type Meister High Schools=First, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education will operate ‘Seoul-type Meister High Schools,’ which integrate the strengths of Meister High Schools known for their high-level vocational education capabilities into specialized high schools. Twenty leading schools will be selected in 2023 and 2024 for pilot operation, and based on the 2024 evaluation results of specialized high school designation and operation, 64 specialized high schools will be converted into Seoul-type Meister High Schools by 2025.

Through autonomous innovation reflecting each school’s characteristics, high-quality educational programs equivalent to Meister High Schools will be applied, including △industry-demand customized curricula △project-based and digital-based education △industry-academia-government cooperation systems. The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education will support regular consultative bodies among leading Seoul-type Meister High Schools, operate consulting support teams, and carry out diverse and high-quality vocational education and systematic supervisory support projects tailored to each school’s characteristics.

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education expects stable management of education quality through strengthened education in new industries and technologies such as semiconductors and digital fields, and a systematic annual performance management system to cultivate highly skilled practical talents responding to industrial changes.

◆New Seoul Vocational Education Slogan ‘High-Job High-U’=‘High-job’ conveys the meaning of ‘improving the quality of employment’ through securing excellent employment opportunities and matching jobs according to growth paths, as well as ‘grasping and achieving the future.’

Meanwhile, ‘High-Univ’ implies ‘supporting continuous education in the major field, i.e., admission to universities in the same field,’ and ‘You, the Seoul student,’ as the subject of career choice.

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education explained that the new slogan was selected to break away from the existing perception that graduating from vocational high schools means ‘learning discontinuity’ and ‘career limitations,’ and to support diverse career choices and growth of Seoul students through strengthened individualized vocational education.

◆Establishment of AI Convergence Career and Vocational Education Center=In addition, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education plans to establish an AI Convergence Career and Vocational Education Center (tentative name) by utilizing idle land at existing schools.

This center will support career education and new industry and new technology education at individual schools, and build training facilities for enhancing teachers’ on-site expertise in future advanced technology fields such as 4th industrial revolution new technologies.

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education will also support career and vocational education and job experience programs for elementary, middle, and high school students, as well as lifelong education programs for teachers, parents, and citizens.

◆Selection and Operation of Semiconductor Hub Schools for Specialist Training=As part of the semiconductor specialist training plan for Seoul vocational high schools announced last November, ‘Semiconductor Hub Schools’ will be operated. These hub schools will run joint curricula among schools centered on the hub schools through related department reorganizations.

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education plans to start with two designated schools this year and select two additional schools annually, totaling six semiconductor hub schools by 2025. Selected schools will receive support such as operating expenses, industry-demand customized department reorganizations, discovery of out-of-school semiconductor education institutions, and establishment of expert pools from industry and education sectors.

Furthermore, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education is promoting the establishment of one semiconductor Meister High School and has signed educational cooperation agreements in the semiconductor field with Seoul National University Semiconductor Joint Research Center, Korea Polytechnics Semiconductor Convergence Campus, Nano Convergence Technology Institute, Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and mid-sized packaging companies to foster semiconductor specialists at the high school level.

◆Introduction of Blockchain DID-based Smart Student ID=As part of building an edutech ecosystem, a blockchain DID-based smart student ID mobile application will be introduced for the first time nationwide in Seoul vocational high schools. Blockchain DID (Decentralized Identity) technology is an identity verification technology based on blockchain, a new technology of the 4th industrial revolution.

The smart student ID app is a platform that allows students to have sovereignty over their personal data, including their personal information, and to manage their identity information and history themselves. The app will be completed in the first semester of this year and initially introduced in 10 vocational high schools, followed by pilot operation in 30 schools in the second semester, and expanded to all vocational high schools in 2024.

Schools can utilize AI and big data technologies to manage students’ learning histories, provide career counseling based on employment and college admission preferences, and offer one-stop customized career support from graduation to employment and further learning. Students will be able to manage their basic identity verification, learning histories inside and outside school, participation in high-skilled technical training, internships, and practical experience and career development records on their own.

Cho Hee-yeon, Superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, said, “In the rapid development of 4th industrial revolution new technologies and social changes, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education is determined to achieve a system innovation toward sustainable Seoul vocational education to nurture future talents.” He added, “We believe that education will be provided to cultivate Seoul students into talents who can actively respond to the rapidly changing future society.”

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