Ministry of Education Selects 10 'Glocal Universities' for Official Designation... Focused Support of 100 Billion KRW Over 5 Years

Selected 10 out of 15 Pre-designated Schools
Focus on Specificity of Implementation Plans
Supplementary Implementation Plans to be Submitted by February Next Year

The government has selected 10 universities as the main designated institutions for the 'Glocal University 30 Project,' which is implemented to concentrate support on regional universities. Approximately 100 billion KRW in funding is expected to be invested over the next five years for the selected universities.

On the afternoon of the 13th, the Ministry of Education and the Glocal University Committee held a briefing at the Government Seoul Office to announce this. The universities designated as main Glocal universities this year are ▲Kangwon National University and Gangneung-Wonju National University ▲Gyeongsang National University ▲Pusan National University and Pusan National University of Education ▲Sunchon National University ▲Andong National University and Gyeongbuk Provincial University ▲Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology ▲Chonbuk National University ▲Chungbuk National University and Korea National University of Transportation ▲Pohang University of Science and Technology ▲Hallym University, totaling 10 institutions. Previously, five universities that were selected as preliminary designated universities?▲Soonchunhyang University ▲Yonsei University Mirae Campus ▲Inje University ▲Chonnam National University ▲Handong Global University?were not selected as main designated universities.

The Glocal University 30 Project, promoted by the Ministry of Education and the Glocal University Committee, was planned to build a regional innovation ecosystem by intensively supporting some universities amid the deepening crisis of regional universities due to population decline and industrial structure changes. The goal is to start with about 10 universities this year and designate around 30 universities by 2026.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Each selected university will receive approximately 100 billion KRW in support over five years. Additionally, regulatory innovation will be prioritized to induce investment from ministries and local governments.

In the first Glocal university designation evaluation conducted this year, 108 universities submitted 94 innovation plans. The Ministry of Education and the Glocal University Committee selected 15 universities through a preliminary designation evaluation in June, and among these, the main designated universities were decided after an evaluation by the National Research Foundation of Korea.

The main focus in selecting the main designated universities was 'feasibility.' The Ministry of Education and the Glocal University Committee explained, "The main designation evaluation examined how concrete and feasible the implementation plans were, whether university development was closely linked to regional development strategies, whether local governments clearly recognized the role of Glocal universities, and whether there was sufficient willingness to support them." The evaluation was conducted in three areas: ▲appropriateness of the implementation plan ▲performance management ▲local government support and investment.

The Ministry of Education and the Glocal University Committee stated that the universities selected for the main designation commonly presented detailed implementation plans. They said, "Each university commonly proposed cooperation strategies and tasks between the university and the region to boldly break down barriers hindering innovation inside and outside the university. Strategies for educational innovation that break down walls between departments and majors within the university, and strategies to break down barriers between universities and regional industries and research institutions to leap forward as partners in regional development, were proposed diversely reflecting the unique characteristics of each university and region."

To ensure fairness and expertise in the evaluation, the main designation evaluation committee was composed of experts from academia, research, and industry. It was also conducted as a closed-door residential evaluation to maintain strict confidentiality.

However, the implementation plans submitted by the universities are expected to require supplementary submissions later. The Glocal University Committee decided that detailed implementation contents of the selected universities need to be supplemented through evaluation committee opinions and expert consulting. Accordingly, each university will begin the first-year implementation but must revise and supplement the implementation plan through expert consulting by February next year. The scale of support by university and by year will also be finally decided considering the revisions to the implementation plans.

For universities designated as Glocal universities, annual implementation checks will be conducted, and mid-term and final evaluations will be held in the third and fifth years. If the implementation plan is not executed or performance is insufficient based on the evaluation results, measures such as contract termination and suspension of support will be taken after deliberation by the Glocal University Committee, and project funds may be reclaimed if necessary. In particular, universities that applied jointly on the premise of integration must submit an integration application to the Ministry of Education within one year after signing the contract and promptly proceed with the integration process.

Next year, the Glocal University 30 Project plans to announce the implementation plan in January, conduct preliminary designation in April, and aim for main designation in July.

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