Ministry of Education Holds Public Hearing to Gather Opinions on Glocal University Designation Plan

Held on the afternoon of the 19th at Daegu Marriott Hotel

The process of gathering opinions from the education sector for this year's designation of Glocal Universities has begun.

On the afternoon of the 19th, the Ministry of Education held a public hearing in Daegu to collect opinions from university and local government officials regarding the 'Glocal University Designation Plan (draft)'.

Glocal Universities are a government policy project selecting 30 non-metropolitan universities by 2030 to respond to the declining school-age population and to cultivate talent tailored to local communities. Universities designated as Glocal Universities will receive 100 billion KRW in support over five years per institution.

According to the draft released that day, unlike last year, this year's Glocal University designation allows not only single universities and integrated universities but also 'alliance universities' where two or more universities establish governance together to apply.

The preliminary designation scale is around 15, with up to five additional universities from last year's preliminary designated universities possibly added. Last year's preliminary designated universities will be recognized as preliminary designated universities this year only if they have supplemented, improved, or developed their innovation plans. These five universities are Soonchunhyang University, Yonsei University Mirae Campus, Inje University, Chonnam National University, and Handong University.

Additionally, while face-to-face evaluations were conducted only when necessary until last year, this year, face-to-face evaluations will be expanded to all applicant universities.

The criteria for preliminary and main evaluations are also expected to be partially revised. In the preliminary evaluation's focus area of 'Innovation (60 points)', last year assessed whether regulatory innovation measures were proposed, but this year, it will check whether innovation plans were established considering the university's characteristics such as establishment type and size. In the 'Regional Characteristics (20 points)' section, last year evaluated whether an execution system was established, but this year will assess the linkage between regional development strategies and innovation plans, as well as whether innovation is induced in other universities within the region.

In the main evaluation, it will be reflected whether there are concrete plans to ensure that innovation tasks can continue even after support ends. However, the draft may be revised and supplemented during the opinion-gathering process at the public hearing.

The Ministry of Education plans to conduct additional opinion-gathering sessions in Gwangju on the 22nd and at the Government Sejong Complex on the 24th, announce and publicize the designation plan on the 1st of next month, and announce the preliminary designation results in April.

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