“New ranking initiative

in the Republic of Korea”

Euiho Suh, Ph.D.

Professor and UEMC Chair, POSTECH

Special Adviser, Univ. of Ulsan & Sejong Univ.

President, URFK, Korea

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Increasing Importance of University World Rankings in Korea

■ Background

– Globalized Campuses and Universities, MOUs and World Summits

– Attracting International Students and Scholars, Inbound & Outbound

■ Increasing Importance of University Rankings in Korea

Ranking News in Korean media Advertisement of Ranking Performance

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High-Impact University Rankings in Korea

- Media Alliance and Fairness (Size-Independent , Normalization)

JoongAng Daily Korean University Rankings

Chosun-QS Asian University Rankings

THE World University Rankings

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Rankings quoted in the media

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Introduction to URFK

■ University Ranking Forum of Korea (URFK)

– Questions

(1) Are the criteria and their weights of each ranking method appropriate?

(2) Are Korean universities fairly evaluated?

(3) Are Korean universities competitive enough?

A National Forum

mobilizing all relevant deans and team leaders of Korean universities

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– URFK Overview

• Topics:

• Ranking Methodologies, Data Preparations, Policies, Peer Review Issues,

Global Reaches, University Competitiveness etc.

• Meetings: Twice a year at University Campuses

• Session: “Theme Session” and “General Session”

– Participants

• 30 major universities (POSTECH, U of Ulsan, Sejong U, KAIST, Yonsei U., Korea U, SNU, etc.)

• Ranking and Research Institutes: (Joong Ang Daily, Thomson Reuters, Korea Economic Daily,

• Korean Educational Development Institute, etc)

• Website: https://sites.google.com/site/urfkreg/– Database http://cafe.daum.net/urfk

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History of URFK (1/3)

■ 1st URFK

– Date: June 12, 2014

– Venue: Sejong University

– Theme: Philosophical foundation

– of rankings

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History of URFK (2/3)

■ 2nd URFK

– Date: December 23, 2014

– Venue: Kyung Hee University

– Theme: Competitiveness of Korean universities

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History of URFK (3/3)

■ 3rd URFK

– Date: October 15, 2015

– Venue: Hankuk University of Foreign Studies

– Theme: Pros and Cons of Academic Peer Review

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Next URFK

■ 4th URFK

– Date: May 27, 2016

– Venue: Sojang University

– Theme: Globalization of universities

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Korean IREG member

■University of Ulsan

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Korean IREG member

■Sejong University

King SejongKorean Alphabet Creator, 1446

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Potential Member for IREG - POSTECH

World No. 28 in 2010, THE (Highest Ranking ever achieved by any Korean university)

World No. 1 for 3 years (2012-2014)Young Universities (50 years Younger) , THE

QS World Raniking: 87 (2015)

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Potential Member for IREG – HUFS

President Obama, USA March 26, 2012

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Potential Member for IREG – Sogang University

President Park Geun HyeB.S. Class of 1970, Electrical Engineering

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Thank you!