Chung-Ang University received the fifth largest amount of research funding in the country, fully demonstrating its status as a research-oriented university that will lead the future of the science and technology field.
According to the “2023 University Research Activities Survey” recently published by the National Research Foundation of Korea, it was confirmed that Chung-Ang University received a total of KRW 192.611 billion in research funding in 2022. This is the fifth largest research budget received by comprehensive private universities nationwide, following Yonsei University, Korea University, Sungkyunkwan University, and Hanyang University.
The size of research grant is a clear indicator of a university’s research competitiveness. Research outcome in the advanced science and technology fields, such as AI, system semiconductors, intelligent robots, bio-health tech, and smart energy, can only be achieved with strong financial support. This is precisely why all universities are putting all their efforts into various R&D projects and winning contracts for the government financial support projects.
The fact that Chung-Ang University has the fifth largest research funding among comprehensive private universities nationwide is a remarkable feat. Chung-Ang University, which has been striving to change its system into a research-oriented university in recent years, has successfully achieved its goal. The university has gone beyond the phase of conversion to a research-oriented university, a conversion that has been promoted since President Park Sang-Gue took office in 2020. Chung-Ang has entered the phase of further strengthening its status as a research-oriented university.
Aside from the size of research funding, the fact that Chung-Ang University has successfully transformed into a research-oriented university can be validated by several indicators. The Ministry of Education’s Direct Support Project Expenses for Universities announced by the Korea Association of Private University Presidents shows that Chung-Ang University has won contracts worth KRW 32.7 billion, which is the fifth largest amount among those secured by private universities nationwide.
The BK21 Phase 4 project, a representative government financial support project that determines the research competitiveness of universities, is also an indicator the university’s research competitiveness. Chung-Ang University, which ranked sixth in the nation with 15 business groups and teams selected in 2020, has become a leading research university operating a total of 18 research groups with 3 additional business groups and teams selected through the mid-term evaluation of future talent conducted last year.
What makes Chung-Ang University’s achievements particularly noteworthy is that the majority of its research funding was achieved through convergence research that optimized the university’s characteristics. Chung-Ang University is a school with a complex academic cluster, including humanities, science, arts, and medicine, but it has a smaller proportion of science and engineering departments compared to other large private universities. Considering that the majority of recent research funding comes from science and engineering R&D budgets, the outcome of future-oriented convergence research based on various academic units are remarkable.
Chung-Ang University's research funding is expected to continuously increase considering the characteristics of future industries. The scope of research projects is increasing as the framework for convergence research is established and the scope of research support is expanded. At the moment, the university has been establishing a virtuous cycle that builds a diverse research environment, such as cultivating its representative research institute and providing support to new researchers.
Chung-Ang University plans to achieve world-class research competitiveness by drastically improving its infrastructure that will become the basis for good research results and research funding in the future. It has already initiated the process of building a large new engineering center (temporary name) that is 14-stories high and has a total floor area of 20,000 m2 based on the City of Seoul’s University Space Innovation Plan. It is expected that the school will foster future talent and further strengthen cooperation among industry, academia and research institutes by using the center as the hub where cutting-edge technological research will be conducted.
President Park said, “The rapidly changing future society will be ultimately led by convergence research-oriented universities. In recent years, Chung-Ang University has directed its strength into transforming its system into a future-oriented convergence research-oriented university by enhancing research competitiveness and winning research projects. We will continuously strive to strengthen our status as a convergence research-oriented university based on full support, including strengthening research support measures and improving infrastructure.”