The Bold Commencement of Global/Digital Collaborative Education: 'SKKU WAVE (K-COIL)'
- sscience
- Hit323
- 2023-09-21
The Bold Commencement of Global/Digital Collaborative Education: 'SKKU WAVE (K-COIL)'
- Commencement of Online Collaborative International Learning Courses with Prestigious Overseas Universities.
Starting from the second semester of the 2023 academic year, our university will be the first in Korea to offer regular courses in collaboration with six global universities from four countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, and Singapore, through the Global Online Collaborative Learning Program known as SKKU WAVE (Worldwide Alliance for Virtual Exchange).
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, digital technology-based learning platforms and online communication solutions have rapidly advanced, opening up avenues for universities to jointly offer various regular courses in an effective online (remote) format without significant costs or time constraints.
SKKU WAVE is a Korean-style K-COIL program designed to align with the university's educational environment, benchmarking the COIL (Collaborative Online International Learning) program of New York State University and the EDGE program of Pennsylvania State University. It is a remote exchange program operated jointly with overseas universities using online platforms, encompassing various curriculum activities such as classes, team projects, and discussion-based learning.
The WAVE (K-COIL) courses will be conducted in both real-time (synchronous) and non-real-time (asynchronous) formats. Real-time classes will be conducted with universities in the Asia-Pacific region, such as the University of Queensland in Australia and Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, where time zone differences are minimal. On the other hand, asynchronous classes will be conducted in collaboration with universities in the United States and Europe, where significant time zone differences exist. Especially in asynchronous classes, digital communication solutions such as social media and Zoom will be actively employed to enhance learner interaction and team projects.
Dean Bae Sanghoon of the Office of Academic Affairs stated, 'WAVE (K-COIL) will provide Sungkyunkwan University with a new opportunity to engage and collaborate with global students.' He further expressed the intent, saying, 'Through online collaboration, we will form networks with students from diverse countries and cultural backgrounds, enhancing their global competencies and assisting them in becoming global citizens.'
Scheduled to launch in the upcoming second semester of the 2023 academic year, WAVE (K-COIL) will consist of a total of six courses. These courses will cover topics highly relevant to academic fields and global issues that allow sharing of cultural relativism and differing perspectives. (Refer to the table below for details).
○ International Conflicts and News Coverage (Professor Ray Hartman)
This course will academically discuss conflicts and disputes occurring in various regions around the world as portrayed in the media, sharing new perspectives. Students will engage in team projects with partner university students from The University of Queensland in Australia to explore approaches to resolving international conflicts and prospects for international relations.
○ Interactive Immersive Media (Professor Jiyoung Lee)
Developing critical thinking skills by applying principles and theoretical knowledge of interactive media to the realm of immersive media (augmented reality, virtual reality, metaverse). This course, conducted in collaboration with a professor from Northwestern University in the United States, will delve deep into discussions about emotions and information processing among users based on the veracity of media information.
○ Data Ethics and Social Impact (Professor Gayathri Nadarajan)
This course will cover key concepts in data ethics, including ownership, personal information, and openness, along with other important concepts. Through learning about data ethics, students will explore ways to contribute to society by utilizing data science technology. This course will be co-taught with a professor from the University of Toronto in Canada.
○ Curriculum and Education (Professor Jina Noh)
Exploring the innovative education curriculum in Singapore and investigating key issues related to it. This course will be conducted in collaboration with a professor from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.
○ Frontier Energy Astrophysics (Professor Changdong Noh)
Learning the fundamental goals of high-energy astrophysics and understanding the physical knowledge and theoretical models used to comprehend them. This course, co-taught with a professor from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the United States, will also introduce recent significant achievements in astronomy, such as the discovery of gravitational waves, black hole imaging, and multi-messenger astrophysical observations.
○ Introduction to Bioenergy Engineering (Professor Gahyun Baek)
Co-teaching a course with a professor from Penn State University in the United States on the impact of carbon emissions and energy consumption on climate change, focusing on research topics related to the field of bioenergy.
▲ (From the top row, left to right) Professor Ray Hartman, Professor Jiyoung Lee, Professor Gayathri Nadarajan
(From the bottom row, left to right) Professor Jina Noh, Professor Changdong Noh, Professor Gahyun Baek
On the other hand, the Office of Academic Affairs plans to significantly expand the range of courses offered through the WAVE (K-COIL) program starting from the 2024 academic year. Additionally, it has expressed its intention to collaborate with various higher education institutions from diverse countries that require advanced digital technology-integrated K-EDU in the long term, not limited to English-speaking overseas universities.