One of the founding philosophies of POSTECH (POSTECH Visions) is “training well-rounded future global leaders through outstanding education”. POSTECH has selected talented students every year, and all members of POSTECH have been doing their best to nurture them into global talents. Then, Postechians need to question themselves regarding what effort they are making to become global leaders.
Until now, many offices of POSTECH, including POSTECH Leadership Center, conducted various research and investigations targeted at the graduates and enrolled students of POSTECH. There is a remarkable outcome from the investigations. It is that, compared with students in science and engineering of other universities (such as Seoul National University, KAIST, Yonsei University, and Korea University), students of POSTECH are more excellent in individual research capability, but behind in leadership ability. Especially in teamwork ability, inadequacy showed up. We should not overlook these results. Every human cannot but help live forming an organization. If one is not in harmony with members of his team or organization, or is not loved and recognized by them, not only is his growth potential limited, but also his life in the organization become difficult. Concern about Postechians’ passiveness in team activity is not just recent talk. As lots of leadership research has proved, teamwork capability is one of the most important qualities of a global leader. Thus, this is an essential skill Postechians need to grow into a global leaders. All members of POSTECH should consider how to develop this skill. Because students are accustomed to one-man study from middle school and high school, it is natural that they are awkward and uncomfortable in team activity after becoming university student. In team activities, people with incompatible personalities and free riders are bound to appear. Also, given individual’s opinions may be ignored. However, one who can overcome those and embrace one? members can grow into a sincere leader.
The POSTECH Leadership Center, of which I am a member, has been exerting great efforts to cultivate Postechians’ leadership capability. In particular, developing Activity-based General Education Curriculum (ABC), we have implemented education for successful introduction of freshmen to university life and major studies. In addition, community service education, from which students can learn about living with other people, and instruction for liberal arts, cultural refinement, and leadership development are some of the programs we are responsible for. Among these, I am conducting an education in two subjects, “My Leadership Style” and “Teamwork Leadership Activity”, focusing on students’ self-development and cultivation of teamwork capability. I organized these programs for some teams to perform a new mission every week. Sometimes, the mission includes a team action that requires physical strength and tenacity in gymnasium or under the open sky. Through these activities, students can experience a consideration for the other party. Moreover, they can realize the importance of leadership and team activity by playing the role of a team leader.
Modern leadership theory says that leadership is not an innate talent, but something that takes time to be built. Thus, Postechians should consistently work for self-development, personal relationships, and cultivation of teamwork capability. At the university level, starting from a teamwork education at freshmen orientation, the first day of university life, using the concept of “section”, the university needs to develop various team activity programs for dormitory, each grade, and each department, and provide them to students continually.
For “training well-rounded future global leaders” according to the POSTECH Vision, continuous attention and active support for leadership education should exist. We should think about whether simply publishing a slogan “training future global leaders” is enough, whether waiting for someone else to achieve the visions some time or other, and whether we just expect students to grow into leaders by themselves.
If students try their best for self-development, and professors and staff must not only be open but also share their thoughts to demonstrate group intelligence between offices, we must form an original cooperative organization culture, and I have no doubt that POSTECH will grow consistently and become a world-class university producing excellent talents.