Sharing Cyber University Achievements: Building AI Infrastructure and Supporting Marginalized Learners

"Cyber University Operational Performance Sharing Forum" to Be Held

Strengthening Educational Capabilities in Response to Technological Advancements such as AI

Lowering Language Barriers and Improving Access to Education for Vulnerable Groups

The Ministry of Education, together with the Korea Education and Research Information Service, will host the "2026 Cyber University Operational Performance Sharing Forum" on May 20 at JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square Seoul.

At this forum, more than 250 participants—including members of the Korea Council for Online Universities and representatives from cyber universities—will gather to share best practices from cyber universities that have participated in financial support projects.

Cyber universities, which enable students to learn online without constraints of time or place, play a significant role in providing education for adult learners, including those already employed. Currently, there are 22 operational cyber universities (20 cyber universities and 2 lifelong education institutions in the form of distance universities).

As of 2024, the average employment rate of cyber university graduates stands at 77.7%, indicating their contribution to higher and lifelong education for developing adult learners' job competencies.

Ministry of Education 'Advanced Digital Education Environment Support Project' Best Practice. Provided by the Ministry of Education

To address the growing demand for adult learner education and the advancement of technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), the Ministry of Education is implementing two initiatives: the Digital Education Environment Advancement Support Project and the Distance University Education Innovation Support Project, both aimed at strengthening educational capabilities.

The Digital Education Environment Advancement Support Project helps cyber universities build infrastructure for cutting-edge education, including AI and extended reality (XR), and develop educational content so that learners can experience immersive training. Last year, the Ministry selected five universities for the program and this year added two more. Among the supported institutions, Seoul Cyber University has established XR infrastructure and actively integrated it into their curriculum.

The Distance Education Innovation Support Project assists universities in developing educational models tailored to the needs of marginalized learners, such as immigrants, people with disabilities, young people with interrupted careers, and foreign workers. Among the supported institutions, Kyung Hee Cyber University operates multilingual learning content and AI-based academic counseling for adult learners with immigrant backgrounds, thereby lowering language barriers and improving access to education for vulnerable groups.

Ye Hyeran, Director of Lifelong Education Support at the Ministry of Education, stated, "We will continue to support cyber universities so that they can offer customized retraining opportunities to adult learners and employees without the constraints of time and place, and further develop as future-oriented distance education institutions by utilizing digital technologies such as AI and XR."

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