Students and Professors Develop Courses Together... National Pukyong University’s Interdisciplinary General Education Courses

Three Courses Selected in Student Contest, Including "The Science of Sweetness and a Healthy Society"
New General Education Courses Developed by Professors to Launch Next Year Pending Review

Did you know there is a university where students and professors develop the general education courses they will take?

National Pukyong University (President Bae Sanghun) will develop and offer new interdisciplinary general education courses needed for the future society, based on students' innovative ideas and professors' in-depth research, starting from the 2026 academic year.

The General Education Center of the Undergraduate College at National Pukyong University recently concluded the "2025 Academic Year Interdisciplinary General Education Course Proposal Contest" for students and the "2025 Academic Year Interdisciplinary General Education Course Research and Development Support Project" for professors. The award ceremony and results presentation were held on August 27 and 28, respectively.

These initiatives aim to foster convergent talents with integrated thinking skills required in a rapidly changing society, focusing on the needs of learners.

For the student contest, after recruiting participants and conducting the first round of screening in June and July, the final three teams were selected through the second round of on-site presentations on August 27. At the award ceremony, the course "The Science of Sweetness and a Healthy Society," proposed by Kim Jihoon and Jung Seobin, third-year students from the Department of Public Administration and Welfare (supervised by Professor Yoo Jungmin), won the grand prize.

The courses "Digital Society and the Ethics of Empathy" and "AI and Data in Everyday Life: Prediction Without Coding" received the top excellence award and the excellence award, respectively. Six additional teams received encouragement awards.

Since 2019, National Pukyong University has consistently operated this contest annually, establishing a system that turns students' ideas into actual general education courses.

In the research and development support project for professors, for which the results presentation was held on August 28, two final teams were selected. Through research on developing interdisciplinary general education courses from June to August, Professor Lee Wanseok's team from the Department of Applied Mathematics developed the course "Mathematics and Statistics in Visual Media," and Professor Jung Beommou's team from the Department of International Area Studies developed the course "Sustainable Marine Environment and International Development Cooperation."

The courses created through the student contest and the professors' research and development will be officially included as new general education courses for the 2026 academic year and offered to enrolled students, once they are finalized through the Curriculum Committee's review.

Choi Hoseok, Dean of the Undergraduate College, said, "We will focus on nurturing talents who will lead future society by providing customized courses that reflect students' needs and social demands."

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