[Fostering Convergent Human Resources to Lead the Future Society] ② Environmental Consortium

As convergent human resource development has emerged as a social topic, the Humanities and Society Convergence Talent Development (HUSS) project, which combines knowledge from various fields such as information and communication technology (ICT) and engineering based on humanities and social knowledge, is attracting attention. The HUSS program aims to foster the convergence talents that society needs in eight major fields: digital, environment, risk society, demography, global culture, local, social structure, and global coexistence. In this series, we will look at the main contents and achievements of the HUSS program to shed light on the new paradigm of university education in the humanities and social fields. In the second part of this series, we will introduce the case of an environmental consortium that aims to foster convergent human resources with climate crisis sensitivity, local and global action, and data analysis skills. <Editor's Note>

Students participating in the Kookmin University Environmental Consortium's 'Skill Up Program' generate ideas while working on a project.

The world is experiencing extreme weather events that are breaking unwelcome records, including the largest flood in 1,000 years and the most intense heat and snowfall in 100 years. Sustained heat waves, heavy rainfall, droughts, large wildfires, and rising sea levels are causing a variety of disasters, and environmental pollution is getting worse by the day. There are gloomy predictions that by 2050, the weight of plastic trash in the ocean will exceed the weight of all fish.

As climate change and environmental pollution become more commonplace, it is becoming an urgent task to come up with practical ways to solve them. In this process, it is argued that not only natural science but also humanities and social science approaches are needed. In understanding the causes and impacts of climate change, it is not only important to understand how the climate has changed in the natural sciences, but also how human activities and social systems have influenced climate change in historical, cultural, and social contexts.

It is against this background that the HUSS Environmental Consortium is gaining attention. The HUSS Environmental Consortium, which is composed of Deoksung Women's University, Ulsan University, Inha University, and Chosun University, centered on Kookmin University, the host university, is fostering humanities-oriented convergence to respond to the climate crisis. In particular, it focuses on helping students develop problem-solving skills through challenge, communication, and cooperation so that they can find solutions to problems together with experts in other fields.

For example, in February this year, Kookmin University held a 'Skill-up Program' in collaboration with Davio, a spatial information artificial intelligence (AI) technology company, to foster global climate talent with digital capabilities. The students worked on a project to identify business needs and generate ideas for climate change using AI technology.

They experienced combining the hardware of natural science and engineering-based technology with the software of humanistic imagination and insight. Through project-based learning, the students naturally accumulated the capabilities to grow into field-oriented convergence talents. Kookmin University is continuing its efforts to foster global climate talent in the second half of the year. It will continue to run the skill-up program with consulting companies, and it has signed an agreement with a fashion company to conduct a field training program during the summer vacation.

Chosun University has established and teaches a course called 'Climate Humanities and Ecology'. Based on the linguistic or sociolinguistic understanding of climate crisis issues, the course focuses on the genre understanding of ecological literature such as poetry and novels that critically reflect the crisis of the ecological environment, including the climate crisis. By examining topics related to the climate crisis from a literary perspective in conjunction with the theme of coexistence and co-prosperity in the era of climate crisis, students will be able to look at the climate crisis issue based on humanistic understanding rather than simply thinking about it from a scientific and technological perspective.

In other words, by critically examining representative works of the ecological genre, such as the novel #ecological_novel, the movie "Okja," Erin Brockovich, and Hime Mononoke, students will learn creative problem-solving skills to propose responses and adaptation measures to the climate crisis, and grow into interdisciplinary talents who take the lead in solving climate crisis issues.

A student participating in the Climatekeepers' Domestic and International Expedition visits Moerenuma Park in Japan to see the 'Glass Pyramid', a structure that utilizes green energy.

Another program is Deoksung Women's University's "Climate Keep Domestic and International Expedition". Through this program, students conduct their own activities to research and share domestic and international climate crisis response cases. Teams of two to five students autonomously planned and executed the expedition. They had the opportunity to learn about climate crisis response efforts in Japan, Thailand, Germany, the United Kingdom, and other countries, as well as overseas, and experienced advanced examples of green technologies and climate change adaptation technologies, public-private partnerships in response to the climate crisis, and corporate ESG (environmental, social, and governance) management strategies and practices.

"By visiting eco-friendly villages in four Western European countries, such as Bonbon Village in Germany and Bedzed Residential Complex in the United Kingdom, I was able to see with my own eyes the national policies and distinctive infrastructures that respond to the climate crisis," said Lee Soo Bin, a student from Deoksung Women's University, who participated in the program. "Through this experience, I am proud to have broadened my horizons to look at social factors such as housing, food culture, and transportation from an environmental perspective."

The HUSS Environmental Consortium provides students with the opportunity to experience first-hand climate action beyond the classroom, in the field, across borders, and around the world. Students experience the seriousness of environmental problems, including the climate crisis, and naturally develop interdisciplinary thinking and action skills in the process of seeking solutions.

Kang Yoon Hee, head of the Climate Change Response Project at Kookmin University, said, "Recent social problems such as the climate crisis cannot be solved through a flat 20th century education method, but must be responded to by fostering future-oriented convergence talents with problem-solving skills through three-dimensional convergence education that goes beyond majors and universities." "We will continue to develop various programs to foster convergence talents who take the lead in solving climate crisis and environmental problems, and achieve a major innovation in the curriculum of the humanities and social fields."

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