Kookmin University ranked 13th overall in the 2024 JoongAng Ilbo University Evaluation. It rose three places from 16th last year to reach its highest ranking since the start of the evaluation. The university's overall ranking rose as it scored higher in three of the four categories assessed: faculty research, educational conditions, student education and performance, and reputation. The professor research category rose from 16th to 12th, the educational environment from 37th to 15th, and the reputation from 18th to 13th. “In addition to the traditionally strong industry-academia cooperation, international students, and start-up sectors, there have been overall improvements in various areas such as educational conditions, employment, and reputation,” said Chung Seung-ryul, president of Kookmin University. ”We will not be complacent with the results of the evaluation, but will improve various conditions to become a university that sets the standard for higher education.”

Ranked 2nd in industry-academia cooperation revenue index by the Science and Technology Professor's Association

Kookmin University ranked 2nd in the industry-academia cooperation revenue index by the Science and Technology Professor's Association. The university is strong in the field of industry-academia cooperation. It has created a virtuous cycle structure in which it promotes commercialization by discovering excellent in-house technologies and corporate technology needs centered on its technology holding company, and reinvests the profits it has secured in research and development. Currently, Kookmin University's technology holding company is investing in 11 technology start-up companies, including 42 subsidiaries, based on its capital of 26.9 billion won. In addition, as a result of providing exceptional incentives to research directors to promote research cooperation with industry, the company is generating 8 billion won in annual revenue from industry partnerships.

The results of research by professors are not only coming from the engineering department but also from the science and humanities and social sciences departments. The Department of Information Security and Cryptography, which has won a research contract worth about 10 billion won in the field of defense technology by leveraging its strengths in cryptography, is a representative example. The Department of Korean Literature stood out in the humanities.

In addition, the Department of Korean Literature stood out in the humanities. As a result of providing exceptional incentives to the head of the research team to promote research cooperation with industry, the Department of Korean Literature is generating KRW 8 billion in annual industry-linked revenue.

The Department of Information Security and Cryptography, which has leveraged its strengths in cryptography, is a prime example, having won a KRW 10 billion research contract in the field of defense technology.

In the humanities, the Department of Korean Literature stood out. The Korean Language Teaching Center for Foreigners' Korean Language Education Consulting Project, which ended in December last year, is a representative example. The Sejong Hakdan Foundation and Kookmin University recognized the need for a customized program that would be a turning point in strengthening the educational capabilities of foreign teachers and have been conducting the “Consulting for Korean Language Education for Foreign Teachers” since 2022. In addition, the two organizations have led the growth of Korean language education by dispatching Korean teachers to Central Asia and Russia for five years since 2017 to teach Korean language and culture to more than 1,500 foreign teachers and learners.

In the social sector, the Foundation signed a business IT education capacity-building project agreement with the Tashkent University of Information and Communications in Uzbekistan in January last year, which is representative. Beyond the simple establishment of an IT department, it is characterized by the transfer of experience in establishing a model for leading industry-academia cooperation at Kookmin University, such as the establishment of an industry-academia cooperation operating system based on a living lab, to create a sustainable industry-academia cooperation ecosystem. In May, it signed a mutual agreement with the Tashkent University of Information and Communications on the implementation of a dual degree program, and last month it held an international academic conference on innovative research topics in various fields such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, cyber security, smart cities, and medical technology.

9th among major universities in Seoul with a public employment rate of 70.5% in 2023

Kookmin University has continuously increased its employment rate for six years, excluding 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic had an impact, and achieved a public employment rate of 70.5% announced in 2023, ranking 9th among major universities in Seoul. The rise in the stable employment rate and the retention rate was largely due to the University Job Center Plus project, which started as the University Job Center project (small) of the Ministry of Employment and Labor in March 2018, and was converted to a large-scale project in 2019 and a hub-type project in 2022. Through this project, a one-stop service zone for employment and entrepreneurship was established around the University Job Plus Center. In addition, the Center also operates the 'Practical Core Job Expert Training Program (CoREP)', an employment support program that can strengthen the basic common job skills and core job skills that new employees should have.

The Alumni Participation Employment Support Service is also a program that drives up the employment rate. It operates various support services using information from alumni who have found employment. In October, the university held a job fair with alumni who will graduate in 2024.