Kookmin University has advantages in automotive and design. If we fuse those fields, the characterization of ‘design for automobile’ will be possible. Making a fusion department is not the way. (Moved this sentence here). The solution is through business and academic cooperation. (From here…) Core-scale is the business and academic cooperation which will be a great fusion of knowledge. Kookmin Univ. will advance to lead the fusion of business and academic cooperation.”

President Yu (61, in the picture) had a flowing conversation and his face showed us confidence. He didn’t answer every question in a hurry but gave us detailed solutions and remedies. He explained knowledge fusion, which every university is interested in, not with abstract concepts but with actual examples. As an expert who is remarkable in Korea, he easily explained the new trends of industry and process planning.

He suggested ‘collaboration through solution’ as a practice method for combining business and academic cooperation. He planned a cooperation system to penetrate various fields and departments through a business ordering project and making solutions for connecting with each other. He was confident about the processes which schools and businesses can fuse naturally.

He emphasized a ‘warm education university’ as a goal of Kookmin University. He said he will help students’ social debut through education and give them hope by focusing more on output than on input. We met him in the president’s room at Kookmin University, Seoul on the 15th of January, and he said: “We confidently recommend our graduate students to companies with sincerity and loyalty.”

- After taking up your duties last March, you emphasized fusion education. We are wondering the reason.

“Fusion is the trend of the world. There are many cases where solving problems through the study of only one field has limitations, so what I want is to find a breakthrough with the fusion of diverse studies. Universities have to know which talents and functions society needs in people, and then think which of these they will offer.”

-Everyone emphasizes fusion education, but doesn’t this give an intangible feeling?

“Let’s take the automobile. Our country has been following closely with developed countries in regards to various components and materials of this field. I think what the important thing moving forward is: ‘We can improve added value through which field?’ Now the ‘outward part’ is important. We have to excel in the area of interior design or styling of the car. In this way, Audi moved to the forefront. The fundamentals are in engineering, but the final triumph is in the design. Also, art part grafts.”

-Does the school have fusion programs in process?

“A core of fusion is business and academic cooperation. Companies responded actively regarding the demands of customers. If a school divides the R&D functions, naturally the fusion of studies are complete. Kookmin University and Hyundai Motors have been putting together a program of business and academic cooperation. We are considering various designs such as shape, color and style for machine tools purchased in the Chinese market. In this way design is becoming important for even a simple machine. For example,are there essential functional foods and exercise methods in the health field for the aged? In the past each one worked separately, but that has now changed. Fusion programs are in progress, like the College of Physical Education’s study on exercise methods and the Department of Advanced Fermentation Fusion Science and Technology’s study on functional foods.”

-There is a great deal of cooperation with Hyundai Motor; do you have a special relationship?

“I had meetings with Hyundai Motor studying the automobile industry. Ten years ago, I visited about 40 automobile part suppliers and heard their worries and gave them advice for completed companies for a month. This time, we will make a ‘fusion center for the automobile with Hyundai Motor’ and we are planning to conclude an MOU with them soon. Furthermore, we are trying to approach the automotive field more extensively and characterize as a ‘transfer machine’ so I plan to propose applying our know-how to various other fields such as aviation and shipping, to governors and other influencial people.”

- Your fusion plan for the automotive field is impressive.

“I heard designers for home appliances can’t design for cars because cars have much more limitations of usage. For car design, we should focus on safety, convenience and sense of parts like styling. Unlike other appliances, the design plan for cars can utilize other appliances. What I mean to say is that we must make use of these advantages. This is the part where we need to apply the ‘one technology multi project’ concept.”

-How can business and academic cooperation apply fusion among departments?

“I emphasize ‘collaboration through solutions.’ This is a system that makes one solution then creates cooperation naturally. I mean focusing on not a concept but a solution. Our school concluded a project last month of about 4 billion won in scale with ‘Dassault Systemes,’ which is a 3D solution professional company in France. Now it is possible that a design professor can make a design and a professor from an engineering college can interpret the figure by going into the system. Practicing this process, naturally fusion of systems develops and the needed departments are brought together. Soon we are planning to create a new department connecting machine tool systems with the design college.”

-Do you have some plans for improving a student’s education and university evaluations?

“After becoming president, what I feel is important for accomplishing the first year is the integration of systems and the necessity of a balanced development strategy. ‘Choice and concentration’ is important. Reducing the lecturing burden from professors is needed to improve study results, but the evaluation index of our country orders us to improve the lecture rate of professors. There are some elements which are not appropriate for us, so I chose to select a ‘positive system’ giving monetary incentives instead of a ‘negative system’ by reducing the lectures of professors. In this way, we can give motivation to professors and get high scores in university evaluations.”

-Which level of developed plan for school does be?

“We receive evaluations from various places, so I will help to improve our school’s position ranking to within the 11th ~ 20th place during the remaing 3 years of my term. The ranking of schools is decided by infra of school or employment rate like quantitative index. However, as a school operator I think I have to focus on the quantitative component. If I do that, the naturally required conditions would be high.” Invisible elements like the ‘asset of relationship’ between professors and students is important. In the faculty system, there is nothing in the departmental organization which builds a partnership between students and professors. When an asset of relationship is solid then students can ask for help and professors will run to help them. With this kind of system, the employment rate will increas as well. That’s why I consider renewing the departmental systems.”

-Isn’t the renewal of department systems in disagreement with the trend of fusion between studies?

“No, surely department systems play a part in making a barrier between studies but the most important thing is not to make a barrier between student and professor. I think a ‘University of warm education,’ in which professors think of students personally and listen to student’s worries is better than a ‘University of cold study.’” The core of the fusion of studies is eventually academic cooperation. Getting together though the academic cooperation of projects or TF ordering assignments from off campus is the most efficient way of cooperation. In the case of the joint project with Hyundai Motor, engineering from mechanical, automobile and electronics have to come together.”

-Tell us about the pride of Kookmin University. Many CEOs in the automobile industry told me:

“When we work with graduated students from Kookmin University, they are truly faithful,” so they asked me to send our students. The biggest capability of our students is sincerity and loyalty to a company, because of a special academic tradition which compels them to do their best in everything and challenge until the end. I think leaving students alone is wrong after selecting excellent students. I hope if a student who has a strong will is admitted to our school, I will foster them with an education which is the ‘light of hope,’ and then let them go into society prepared.

-About president of Kookmin University Ji Soo Yu.

After He graduated from the Department of Agriculture at Seoul National University, he completed a master in business administration from Illinois State University, and then finished a doctorate of business administration at the same school. He is an expert in the automotive field and was president of the Korea Automobile Industry in Korea. He started a new post as professor in business administration in 1987. Last year, he was appointed as a president of Kookmin University.