Sungkyunkwan University’s Student SuccessCenter Offers Role Model Lecture Sessions and Seminars to Support Students From College to Career

SKKU students talking at the SKKU Student Success Center lounge.

“After defining what a good life is for oneself, the key to ‘Student Success’ is to find a way to live it the way you want to.” (KWON Soo Yeon, Education, ’15)

“’Student Success’ comes from the constant effort to make sure that dreams don't end up just in the mind.” (DO Kyung Hoe, Sociology, ’14)

The students who introduced their trials and errors and goal setting steps during their campus life to the Student Success Center’s staff defined “Student Success” in the preceding sentences. DO Kyung Hoe, who graduated from the sociology department in SKKU and is realizing his dream of becoming a software engineer, Kwon Soo Yeon, who established her own education values during her college life, and some other students published their experiences as reference materials for students who are thinking about their lives after graduation.

A case of self-directed growth of individual students makes avirtuous cycle that creates another definition of “Student Success”.

◆ A University That Innovates for “Student Success”

Sungkyunkwan University is changing the paradigm of university education by suggesting “Student Success” as a goal of university innovation. SKKU launched the Student Success Center in March 2019 for the first time in Korea. SKKU reorganized the student support system that had been divided into various departments based on the goal of “Student Success” and the new organization, the Student Success Center, was launched. SKKU has integrated management of various student support programs through the Student Success Center and established a system for full-cycle support for student success.

SKKU Student Success Center acts as a gateway for student success. When a student asks for career counseling, the Student Success Center acts as a hub to link the student to the relevant department. It also regularly holds lectures and seminars on specific job groups and university lifestyles to introduce students to a role model for student success.

Prof. Sanghoon BAE, the Director of SKKU Student Success Center (Faculty, College of Education), explained, "Students can visit SKKU Student Success Center at any time to share their hardships, and the University provides services to individuals by comprehensively considering their dreams and careers."

The term “Student Success” is found easily throughout SKKU. The University previously made “Global Leading University” its vision in “VISION 2020+”, which was revised in 2017. Also, SKKU emphasized that the University will become an institution that innovates and shares for student success. This means innovation across schools, including education, research, industry-academic cooperation, and management should eventually lead to the success of individual students.

In particular, SKKU C-School, which marks its sixth year since its opening this year, is seen as an example of removing walls between schools and departments. SKKU C-School provides a curriculum tailored to students' needs. In SKKU C-School, students take software classes such as programming and data analysis while also doing extra activities such as vision camps and start-up schools that are not included in their credits. SKKU C-school's goal is to help students find their own careers and meet various challenges.

◆Strengthen Software Education for Future Essential Competencies

Sungkyunkwan University is also taking a leading position in innovating university software education to foster global competitive software professionals and convergence talents in line with the software education trend.

SKKU has made it mandatory for all freshmen to learn basic software skills since 2016. Currently, all freshmen at SKKU are required to earn four credits in software education. There are 17 software lectures for non-major students. SKKU also emphasizes software education for humanities students to foster convergent talents. In addition, apart from the existing software or computer engineering departments, the Sungkyun Software Education Institute (SSEN) has been established to teach software to non-major students. The SSEN makes it possible to convert university software education programs from software engineer oriented ones to universal education programs.

By MOON Kwang Min, ⓒ Maeil Economic Daily& mk.co.kr