Позитивные изменения. Том 3, № 3 (2023). Positive changes. Volume 3, Issue 3 (2023)

Global Citizen Consciousness and Artificial Intelligence: South Korea's Approach to Fulfilling the Third Mission of Universities

Elena Kim

DOI 10.55140/2782–5817–2023–3–3–49–55

Shifting from mere knowledge dissemination to embracing convergence and digital technologies, exploring innovative educational formats, fostering industrial-academic partnerships among universities, and equipping graduates with a global mindset — how do South Korean universities envision their third mission? In response to a request by the Positive Changes Journal, Elena Kim has compiled an overview of trends emerging from the IX Forum of Rectors of Leading Universities in Russia and the Republic of Korea. Since 2013, leaders of Russian and South Korean universities have convened annually at the Russia-Republic of Korea Dialogue (RRKD) Civil Society Forum. Here, they discuss pressing topics related to scientific advancement, university collaboration, academic mobility, and the universities’ evolving role in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The most recent Forum of Rectors, held in late 2022, was dedicated to educational innovations and the third mission of universities in both countries. The forum took place online and was organized by Korea University, a prominent institution in the Republic of Korea.

Elena Kim

Employee at the Department of Psychology, National Research University Higher School of Economics

Much like Russia, South Korea is increasingly recognizing the significance of the third mission in contemporary university life. Forum participants from the Korean side have identified several pivotal trends pertaining to the third mission:

1. A transition from merely passing on knowledge to the cultivation of global competencies among young professionals, encompassing convergence and proficiency in digital technologies, especially AI.

2. The exploration of new educational formats.

3. Universities actively forging industrial-academic partnerships.

4. Equipping graduates with the ability to think within a global context, focusing on environmental stewardship, fostering inclusive societies, and, most importantly, upholding and embodying human values.

Let’s delve deeper into these trends and explore how they contribute to the realization of the third mission of universities.