Future Direction of POSTECH on OCW
Future Direction of POSTECH on OCW
  • Reporter Kim Eun-ji
  • 승인 2010.05.05 14:19
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What is POSTECH’s stance on the subject on Open Course Ware (OCW)? Although some noted universities in Korea, such as Seoul National University and Korea University, have launched their respective OCW programs, POSTECH has not yet expressed any plans of participating in this knowledge-sharing movement.

However, some efforts have been made to provide online resources to the students. In the case of the departments of Life Science and Industrial and Management Engineering, seminars which take place in the university are filmed and uploaded for everyone to have access on the department’s website. It is beneficial to those who have unfortunately missed the opportunity to take part in the seminar or those willing to listen in on their area of interest selectively. Video clips of course lectures related to the government-sponsored World Class University (WCU) program, are also consistently posted online.

Meanwhile the POSTECH Center for Excellence in Education has proposed a different approach to initiate the open education system, using the university’s unique SMP program. As an extension of the program, which links students in a teacher-student relationship by giving scholarships to senior students tutoring first and second-year students, these mentors give additional lectures online.

▲ The website nanum.postech.ac.kr for knowledge sharing
“In this way, the Center strives to make use of academically excellent students and go around the practical difficulties in running OCW,” said Lee Eun-jun, the vice-director of the POSTECH Center for Excellence in Education. The hindrances can be the lack of required facilities, financial support and increased burden for professors to prepare and augment the lecture visually. He added, “Setting up the infrastructure to drive professors in executing OCW can be a method to promote professor’s participation.” Though the UCCs uploaded by mentors can be viewed in nanum.postech.ac.kr, the system is in a developmental stage and is planned to be launched in June.

Gone are the days when students were only able to take lectures that they had signed up for. A free exchange of class materials not only makes a positive contribution to society, but also improves the quality of education in general. It also can be used to expose POSTECH’s academic excellence to the world.