The post-war economic miracle in South Korea was made possible largely thanks to an education system focused on preparing qualified specialists for high-tech industries.
Shin Sung-chul, President of the Korea Institute of Advanced Technology (KAIST), which is considered one of the best in the Asia-Pacific region, spoke about whether a balance can be achieved between human employees and programs. Professor Xing is the author of hundreds of scientific articles and the owner of dozens of patents. He participated in the development of a national strategy for the development of science and technology in the Republic of Korea.
In the 1980s, the government of your country was able to convince many expatriate professors who worked in the West to return to their homeland. As a result, compatriots have made a great contribution to the development of education, science and technology in Korea. Why did they return?
It was a very important time for our country. Industrialization began at a rapid pace, which began in the late 1970s, the production of semiconductors and automobiles was developing. The government wanted to achieve a real breakthrough, and for this, highly qualified employees were needed. At the same time, living conditions at that time were not very good. Korean scientists who worked in developed countries, including the United States and Japan, returned out of a sense of duty to the country. When I myself returned to my homeland in 1989 after five years working in the Kodak laboratory at Northwestern University in the United States, my salary at the new job was only 20% of what I had in America. I came back because I was a KAIST graduate myself. When I studied there, the university was entirely financed by the government, and I had to repay my debt by contributing to the development of the country.
The Russian government has long been looking for ways to bring back scientific personnel from abroad, but patriotism alone is unlikely to help here.
Today, things are different even in South Korea. My generation had a sense of patriotism. The new generation is not so strong. Now you need to use another motivation – to provide a salary comparable to that in the United States, and also to guarantee the necessary conditions for conducting research.
What role should the state play in education?
In South Korea, education is actually the responsibility of the government. But today, universities are asking for more autonomy, striving for a more flexible system, because the government sometimes cannot keep up with the changes associated with the changing needs of companies. A balance must be struck between university autonomy and the role of the government: universities need government support, but they also need flexibility in curriculum development.
Should education be free?
If the state is rich enough, it must pay all the expenses of the students. This is the optimal situation. But today the cost of education is very high, and most of the world’s governments cannot bear all the costs. Part of the costs is covered by consumers. KAIST’s annual budget is approximately $700 million. Only 25% of this money is government-sponsored funds. The rest comes from other sources, so raising funds is a very important task. If you want a good education, you have to pay for it. For example, private universities in the United States provide much higher quality knowledge than universities that are funded from the state budget. In other words, universities need support from both the state and consumers.
How do you feel about new technologies in the field of education – for example, online education?
Online education, immersive technologies are very important, they make it possible to reduce the cost of the learning process and increase its effectiveness. But personal contact, the transfer of knowledge directly from person to person is also important. These approaches need to be combined.
What is the best specialization for current students to be successful in the future?
Artificial intelligence and narrow areas of programming are very important. But at the same time, I would like to emphasize that fundamental education is much more important now than it was a generation ago. The fact is that technology is changing rapidly, and in order to keep up, you need very good fundamental knowledge in the exact sciences and engineering. In addition, the humanities and social sciences are important, since the humanities often see problems that the “techies” do not pay attention to.
In the coming years, many specialties will disappear due to automation. How should the education system change as a result?
In the future, we need to achieve harmony between Homo sapiens and Robo sapiens – that is, with robots equipped with artificial intelligence. Robo sapiens have a number of advantages over humans – for example, they are very good at counting, they work great with data, they have an excellent memory. In these areas, people will not be able to compete with them. We need to develop in areas where we excel Robo sapiens. This is creativity, wisdom, insight, the ability to cooperate.