"I Feel a Sense of Historical Mission" ... Kwon Jinhee, President of Gyeongsang National University, Holds Press Conference

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Gyeongsang National University held a press conference for the inauguration of Dr. Kwon Jinhoe as the 12th president of Gyeongsang National University at the press conference hall on the first floor of the museum at the Gajwa Campus.

The press conference, held on the 18th, was organized ahead of President Kwon Jinhoe's inauguration ceremony on the 22nd, to share the president's vision for university development and concrete action plans with university members and the local community through the media.

Attending the press conference were President Kwon Jinhoe, Vice President for Academic Affairs Lee Seonggap, Vice President for Research Lee Byunghyun, other key university executives, officials from the Office of External Cooperation, and about 50 reporters covering Gyeongsang National University. The conference proceeded for an hour in the order of participant introductions, the president’s welcoming remarks, presentation of the university’s development vision, and a Q&A session.

President Jinhoe Kwon is holding a press conference in a question-and-answer format at the first-floor press room of the Gajwa Campus Museum at Gyeongsang National University.

President Kwon stated, “The university’s development vision is set as ‘Fly with GNU, Leader of National Flagship Universities Driving Innovation,’ and our goal is to become a ‘Top 3 National Flagship University by becoming an innovative, growing, and happy university.’”

He also presented 12 core strategies: ▲Successful implementation of the Glocal University Project ▲Contributing to regional innovation by establishing the RISE system ▲Developing growth plans considering the characteristics of each campus ▲Expanding specialized colleges ▲Establishing a hub for basic academic education in Gyeongnam ▲Strengthening student-centered education ▲Building a safe and convenient campus ▲Enhancing the GNU brand ▲Creating the Gajwa Youth Culture Street ▲Establishing a Future Education and Research Center ▲Expanding development funds and internal research projects ▲Activating region-linked research and strengthening networks.

In the Q&A materials distributed to reporters, President Kwon said, “I became president with the full support of the university members in the first election held after the integration of Gyeongsang National University and Gyeongnam National University of Science and Technology. It is a great honor and privilege for me personally to serve as the president of a national flagship university representing Gyeongnam, but at the same time, I feel a heavy sense of historical responsibility.”

He continued, “From now on, I will steadily implement measures to bring about ‘warm change’ at Gyeongsang National University and actively participate in efforts for regional innovation and development. I hope for the active interest, consideration, and cooperation of the central government, local governments, and related organizations and groups in the local community. In particular, I ask for the cooperation of the media.”

President Kwon cited the promotion of the Glocal University Project, completion of university integration, and improvement of various university evaluation indicators as the most pressing issues for Gyeongsang National University. Regarding the Glocal University Project, President Kwon Jinhoe said, “We are working to invite an eminent external figure as a professor and appoint them as the dean of the College of Aerospace, and plan to invite a top executive from a major corporation as a distinguished professor to appoint them as the director of the Gyeongnam Aerospace and Defense Science and Technology Institute (GADIST).”

He also commented on the integration with Changwon National University and the ‘One Province, One National University System’: “I basically agree,” he prefaced, “and as a countermeasure to the decline in the school-age population, Gyeongsang National University and Changwon National University need to pursue a complementary university alliance or integration rather than a simple expansion policy.”

He added, “However, if we rush too quickly, there could be various difficulties, so I think it would be better to first establish a university alliance system and then move to the second stage of university integration.”

In this regard, Gyeongsang National University and Changwon National University are scheduled to sign a memorandum of understanding for mutual cooperation at 3 p.m. on the 19th in the reception room on the 5th floor of the university headquarters at the Chilam Campus, with the presidents of both universities in attendance.

To secure the future competitiveness of Gyeongsang National University, President Kwon emphasized, “The key is the university’s competitiveness and innovativeness. As a result, international students from around the world will come.” He added, “During my term, I will create a model of a successful regional national university through three strategies: first, specialization; second, solid basic academics; and third, a new university culture.”

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