SNU applied for increased student capacity under the Ministry of Education`s 2024 university student enrollment quota adjustment plan, and it ultimately received the approval of its addition of a new educational organization (the Department of Cutting-Edge Convergence Studies) with a capacity of 218 students for a total of five majors (Digital Healthcare Technology, Integrative Data Science, Sustainable Technology, Intelligent Semiconductor System, and Innovative Pharmaceutical Sciences). Accordingly, last May SNU formed the Department of Cutting-Edge Convergence Studies Promotion Task Force (the “Task Force”), which designs the direction, organization, space, and entrance exams for the establishment of the Department and has been devising a master plan. Since the end of July, SNU have been conducting a survey of opinions within the university regarding the draft curriculum for the Department, which has been discussed by the Task Force, the working committee, and subcommittees for each major. To better promote the effect of the establishment of the Department, SNU plans to hone its delivery by collecting suggestions from members, including additionally necessary courses and considerations.

Students choose their major based on the convergence of specialized fields

The curriculum of the Department is structured with the goals of acquiring expertise in the advanced science and technology fields, cultivating convergence knowledge and skills, encouraging student-led career design, and developing communication and collaboration skills along with creative problem-solving skills. First of all, all freshmen are required to take the common undergraduate course “Cutting-Edge Convergence Studies Major and My Future” over three semesters. The curriculum that includes this set of courses allows students to explore their aptitude and career path, and ultimately to choose a major in the second semester of their sophomore year. The academic system of the five majors, not limited to theoretical studies, is designed to concurrently require internships at industrial sites or laboratories. Furthermore, this curriculum will require students to complete the 12-credit “Pathways (tentative),” a curriculum certification course scheme, including technology entrepreneurship, creative research, and policy leadership. This is intended to enable students to develop their capabilities by communicating with other students from other majors under the same interests in addition to cultivating professional knowledge.
The Task Force, assuming innovative liberal arts education as an essential axis in the education of the Department, plans to concretize the process, which facilitates a positive synergy between major courses and liberal arts courses. As the main subjects, the Task Force is currently considering “Veritas Seminar (tentative),” which consists of small group discussions and team teaching, and “Veritas Project (tentative),” a project-based course which will nurture proactive learning skills and leadership. Moreover, the Task Force will deploy counselors related to overall school life, including education and career paths, to offer assistance to students in actively designing their careers.
This newly installed system is not limited to students in the Department. The Task Force announced that it would gradually expand the application scope of this system, including opening courses linked to other departments and allowing other students from related majors to complete Pathways.

Department of Cutting-Edge Convergence Studies jointly created by school members

On August 1st, a public hearing was held on campus. Despite being in the summer vacation period, the event created a significant impression, as shown by the approximately 300 participants of professors and students (including approximately 200 participants online). Following the presentation on the operation plan and curriculum of the Department, inquiries continued to share and collect the opinions of the university members. In response to a request to actively reflect students` opinions, beyond professors’` perspectives, in enhancing the efficacy of education, the Task Force commented that it would carefully incorporate students` voices into the curriculum through various channels. To this end, it will collect student`s opinions through the Students` Council in the first week of August.
The emphasis of the public hearing was that the announced curriculum plan was not a completed version. The Task Force urged interest and participation from the university members, declaring that it would create a more complete Department by leveraging the collective intelligence at SNU. Vice President for Education, Seong-gyu Kim (Department of Korean Language and Literature), leader of the Task Force, commented that “This is the first time that so many people have paid attention to the curriculum of a single department,” adding “I hope for the continued interest from the university members in the establishment of the Department”
The Task Team is preparing and reviewing various aspects of the demands for the Department, including space, equipment, facilities, senior–junior relationships. The Task Force will finalize the draft curriculum for the Department by collecting feedback from the university members and updating curriculum contents. The curriculum and progress regarding the Department will be accessible on the Department`s website, to be launched soon. The newly established Department is expected to become a new educational organization that will foster the national growth engine in the high-tech fields in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and digital transformation, and further nurture leading convergence talents who can flexibly respond to the rapidly changing demands of society.