Our University held the 113th Anniversary and “Energize Dongguk” Vision Declaration Ceremony in the Middle Auditorium in the Main Building on the 2nd of this month (Thursday).

The Anniversary Event was held in the following order: ▲ Presentation of Long Service Awards ▲ Presentation of Dongguk Academic Awards / Excellent Researcher Awards / Excellent Paper Awards / Graduate School Academic Awards ▲ Presentation of Dongguk Love ▲ Presentation of Proud Dongguk Buddhist Awards ▲ Presentation of Proud Dongguk Family Awards. More than 400 guests attended the ceremony.

The “Energize Dongguk Project,” our university’s development plan declared on this day, will pursue three major strategies under the vision of “Global Dongguk Respected through Contribution”: Traction from the Front and Back, Diversification, and Integration/Connection. Our university will carry out a total of 28 tasks and 64 projects in the following five areas: ▲Foundation Philosophy ▲ Contribution to Education ▲ Contribution to Research ▲ Industry–University Cooperation, and ▲ Sustainable Management.

Vision
Global Dongguk Respected for Its Contribution
Values	Communication and Harmony		Respect and Inclusion			Contribution and Participation
Strategic Goals	Consumer Value-Oriented University		Open-Platform University			Global Hub University
Strategies	Traction from the Front and Back		Diversification			Integration & Connection
Goals and Strategies by Area   28 Core Tasks 64 Core Projects	Foundation Philosophy	Contribution to Education		Contribution to Research	Industry–University Cooperation		Sustainable Management
	Social diffusion and globalization of the Buddhist spirit	Cultivate hawjaeng-style talent with core competences		Develop world-class research competitiveness	Entrepreneurial university coexisting with community		Build autonomous responsible management system and innovate infrastructure
	-Strengthen abilities to implement foundation philosophy -Stimulate Buddhist value networks	-Build foundation for hwajaeng-type talent training -Innovate to goal-presenting curriculums -Strengthen life-cycle student competences		-Build a value-creating research system -Create a customized research ecosystem -Strengthen the capabilities of next academic generations	-Expand education customized to industrial demands -Activate commercialization of research results -Build a startup ecosystem in connection with community		-Reinforce performance-based responsible management -Build communication and empathy systems -Construct an elegant campus
Energize Dongguk Project System

Establish the Buddhist Industry Promotion Foundation and Develop Fusion and Convergence Buddhist Courses

As a Buddhist university, we will improve and strengthen Buddhist education to realize the foundation philosophy. To reflect fast-changing trends, the curriculums will be reorganized through general consumer surveys. The university will also develop Buddhist courses to cater to a growing number of international students. Another notable project is to develop fusion and convergence Buddhist courses, such as the fusion of Buddhism and information technology.

Our university also has a plan to actively seek business development based on Buddhism by establishing the Buddhist Industry Promotion Foundation. We will pursue commercialization in various areas based on our competences and contents related to Buddhist culture. For example, the government budget in the Buddhist cultural heritage repair and maintenance market is around 150 to 160 billion KRW.

Cultivation of Hwajaeng-Style Talents and Global Top 100 Departments

The type of the talent that our university wants to cultivate is “hawjaeng-style talent.” Our goal is to educate fusion and convergence-style people who possess the talent demanded by society and industry in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and have problem-solving abilities to resolve conflicts.

To that end, our university will reorganize the curriculums by department and college into practical convergence curriculums to respond to the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The departments for pilot application of the Fourth Industrial Revolution curriculum will be selected from each college, and curriculums that apply the software study method will be developed for each selected department.

An education innovation organization will also be established to meet the demand for change in the paradigm of university education. We plan to develop a proactive disciplinary model to cultivate hawjaeng-style talent and make our academic systems more flexible. To that end, we will prepare an autonomous curriculum base for each department reflecting the characteristics of each department and course, test-run the new academic system, and expand the applied departments step by step. Furthermore, goal-presenting curriculums will be developed, and an education quality and student competence guarantee system will be operated as well.

The university will focus its competences to develop global top 100 departments. Our university aims to identify academic units that have the ability and determination to lead the academic fields of universities and develop departments that have world-class education and research competences through the selection and concentration of resources.

Regular Invitation of Core Faculty and Acquisition of Global Research Competitiveness

Our university plans to gather the full research capacity of the university and prepare the research foundation to create new values. The Vice President of Research dedicated to the research area will be introduced, and the academic research and industry-university cooperation function will be systematized.

In particular, a Core Faculty Talent Pool System will be established for regular recommendation and management of excellent faculty members. To motivate research achievements, the introduction of a system that allows faculty members to receive early retirement guarantee examination will also be reviewed.

Start-up Incubation One-Stop Support System and World-Class Research Competitiveness

Our university is actively nurturing start-ups in the school and plans to provide students with one-stop support for start-ups by integrating start-up-related functions, such as start-up education, promotion, and incubation.

To that end, the Business Start-up Institute will be newly established under the Vice President of Research with the Young Entrepreneurs Center, Start-up Promotion Center, Start-up Incubation Center, and BMC Start-up Incubation Center.

It is also notable that a technology-based start-up activate system will be constructed in connection with the Research Office and the Industry–University Cooperation Center under the Vice President of Research.

Sustainable University Management System, Fund Raising, and Reinforcement of Communication Functions

Our university has constructed an agile administrative organization for autonomous responsible management. In addition to the introduction of the Vice President of Research and Education Innovation Office, we have established the Institutional Research (IR) Team to support policy decision making by collecting, analyzing, and processing the total data of the university.

Furthermore, we will concentrate the capabilities of all members on the development of the university by focusing on building bonds and empathy through bidirectional communication channels among members.

In addition, our university will raise funds to expand financial resources and build education and research facilities, such as the Lotus Building, from over 300,000 alumni, the Buddhist community, and general companies. To that end, we are planning various fundraising programs.

President Sung Yee Yoon said, “We are keenly aware that four years from now is a critical period for the future of our university, and many people have worked hard to plan out the Energize Dongguk Project. I will communicate with all members of our university for the successful implementation of this project based on the opinions of the members considering the internal and external environments.”

Our university selected “communication and harmony”, “respect and inclusion”, and “contribution and participation” as the core values of this project. It started from the perception that creating the circumstances in which every member of our university, including students, professors, employees, alumni, and the Buddhist community, can work together and maximize their competences. From the time when he was a presidential candidate, President Yoon has shown that he would make “communication and harmony” the most important value for the development of Dongguk University.