How is the globalization in universities? There have been heated discussions on the globalization issue in Korean universities. Universities cannot avoid making efforts to become international because the degree of internationalization is one of the important criteria in university rankings. Therefore, world-class universities must focus on internationalization. As you know, POSTECH also announced the “Bilingual Campus” in 2010, which emphasized “two equivalent official languages on campus.” Three and half years have passed, but it seems that POSTECH’s globalization is not a complete success. On the bulletin board in POVIS, both students and professors expressed the need of a global campus. In addition, not long ago, The Postech Times received the letter from one exchange student complaining that POSTECH has no consideration for foreign students’ education or daily life. As the editor-in-chief of The Postech Times and an undergraduate of POSTECH, I carefully analyzed this issue.
First of all, I want to ask whether you really want a global campus or not. As the native language of Korea is not English, it takes for granted that the members of POSTECH, such as professors, students, and staff, favor using Korean. Many students sympathize with the necessity of English-delivered lectures but they have felt that it is burdensome work to translate English before understanding the contents of lectures. In addition, they have serious doubts about their efficiency. Some professors also agree about these thoughts and are likely to deliver lectures in Korean if there are no foreign students in class, even if the class is registered as an English-delivered lecture. The critical barrier of creating a global campus is that the members of POSTECH only see the global campus as a burdensome work.
Secondly, there is no communication between Korean students and foreign students. In POSTECH, there is the dormitory for foreign exchange students named “DICE.” Korean students and foreign students live there together. However, it is not enough for foreign students only together to get along with all Korean students who are busy studying and acting in various clubs. To become close to each other, it will be good to establish the lecture in which foreign students communicate with and perform some activities with Korean students. Especially, this is essential as the number of foreign students has increased this year.
As the editor-in-chief of The Postech Times, I will focus on the news and opinions of foreign students this semester to help the university become a global campus, which is one of the original purposes of The Postech Times. Globalization cannot be avoided in a world-class university. There is a saying, “A frog in a well knows nothing of the great ocean.” For a quantum leap, though uncomfortable and difficult, making a becoming a global campus is certainly worthwhile.