Education Policy Expert Park Daehyun Appointed as Director of Gyeongbuk RISE Center to Lead Local University Innovation

The Gyeongbuk RISE Center, which will lead higher education innovation in the Gyeongbuk region, is preparing for a significant leap forward under new leadership.

As part of the Regional Innovation-based University Support System (RISE) policy, the Gyeongsangbuk-do RISE Center announced on the 16th that it has appointed Park Daehyun (62), former director of the Central RISE Center, as its new director.

Park Daehyun, director of Gyeongbuk RISE Center (left), is taking a commemorative photo with Lee Cheolwoo, governor of Gyeongbuk Province.

The newly appointed director, Park Daehyun, is an expert in education policy who served for over 30 years at the National Research Foundation of Korea, holding key positions such as Head of Humanities and Social Sciences Research Support, Director of Planning and Coordination, Director of Policy Research, and Head of Management Administration.

Until recently, he served as director of the Central RISE Center, where he designed the implementation framework for RISE pilot projects nationwide. With his inauguration as director of the Gyeongbuk RISE Center, he plans to focus on establishing a field-based, regionally tailored higher education innovation system.

Going forward, the Gyeongsangbuk-do RISE Center plans to steadily implement four major projects in connection with the region's strategic industries: 'K-U City (one city/county-one university-one specialization)', 'K-IDEA Valley (collaboration among local industry, academia, and research)', 'K-IVY (university specialization and consortium)', and 'K-LEARNing (solving local issues)'.

Through these initiatives, the center aims to establish a multidimensional support system so that local universities can function not only as educational institutions, but also as talent hubs and core partners for corporate collaboration in the region.

Since being selected as a RISE pilot region by the Ministry of Education in March 2023, Gyeongbuk Province has established a collaborative system with 22 cities and counties in the province, local universities and companies, and related organizations, forming the 'Gyeongsangbuk-do RISE Committee' and focusing on building the RISE implementation system centered on the committee and working-level consultative body.

From 2025, the Gyeongsangbuk-do RISE Center will begin full-scale operations, positioning itself as a pivotal institution that not only provides financial support, but also creates broad policy effects such as education-industry linkage led by the region, strengthening the foundation for youth settlement, and promoting balanced regional development.

Director Park Daehyun stated, "The Gyeongbuk RISE Center will focus not on short-term achievements, but on establishing a sustainable ecosystem for the development of local universities," adding, "We will do our utmost to ensure that the 'Gyeongbuk-style RISE governance,' in which universities, the region, and industry work closely together, operates successfully on the ground."

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