Kookmin University (President Jeong Seung Ryul) held its 79th Anniversary Commemoration Ceremony and Future Vision Proclamation Ceremony on the morning of Friday, October 17, at the Academic Conference Hall in the Administration Building. Approximately 300 attendees, including President Jeong Seung Ryul, faculty, staff, students, alumni, and distinguished guests, participated in the event.

‘KMU VISION 2035: EDGE’ embodies Kookmin University's commitment to securing a **differentiated competitive edge** within the increasingly competitive higher education landscape.

‘EDGE’ signifies four core values: Entrepreneurship, DX (Digital Transformation), Global (Global Competence), and ESG (Sustainable Management). As it prepares to mark its 80th anniversary next year, KMU has established the vision to become ‘A University Setting the Standard for Higher Education’ and adopted the slogan ‘Make the rule, Break the rule’ to realize these goals.

President Jeong Seung Ryul emphasized via an AI video, “Kookmin University's 80-year history has always been one of challenge and innovation, and now we stand at another turning point.” He added, “KMU VISION 2035:EDGE is not a declaration but a promise of action. As we build upon today's innovations, they will accumulate into a massive transformation,” urging, “Let us all open a new future for our university together.”

The event introduced KMU's four major development strategies and eight specialized fields, charting a course beyond its 80th anniversary toward its 100th. President Jeong outlined the four development strategies: ‘Building a Boundary-Free Educational Ecosystem,’ 'Strengthening Research Capabilities and Expanding Industry-Academia Collaboration,‘ 'Enhancing Global Competitiveness and Networks,’ and ‘Expanding Infrastructure and Socially Responsible Management.’

President Jeong emphasized, “In education, the major self-selection system must be stably established. To achieve this, personalized career support based on AI data and digital convergence curricula reflecting the changing times must be strengthened.” He added, “In research, we must expand the scope of our existing strengths in industry-academia collaboration and research, and secure new growth engines by establishing a large-scale startup fund.”

He further stressed, “For our university to secure long-term competitiveness, we must build the underlying strength to compete with overseas universities beyond domestic rivals in all areas: education, research, and global outreach. The goal of ranking among the world's TOP 300 and Korea's TOP 8 by 2035 reflects this vision.” The eight specialized fields identified are ‘Design & Content,’ 'Mobility,‘ 'Quantum,’ 'AI+X,‘ 'Robotics,’ 'Advanced Materials & Semiconductors,‘ 'Water, Energy & Environment,’ and ‘Bio.’ Kookmin University has recently achieved significant results in research fields, securing government project contracts worth 134.4 billion won alone in areas like AI and bio.

Meanwhile, the event also featured the presentation of Merit Awards to commend the hard work of various sectors that have brought honor to the university, including professors, staff, students, industry-academic cooperation partners, and alumni. The newly designed academic robes were also unveiled.