An increasing number of universities are integrating employment and start-up organizations into Resource Development Institute (RDI). The schools are trying to create synergy effect in supporting students in their career.
Yonsei University, Hanyang University and Dongguk University are leading the trend. Yonsei University is planning to operate start-up education center, human resource development center and field-experience center under RDI.
“By connecting education on start-up, support on employment and field-experience, we hope to help students in a more realistic way,” said Choi Young-wook, an official at Yonsei Resource Development Institute.
 Similarly, Hanyang University is planning to integrate Global Entrepreneurship Center, Leadership Center, Career Support Center, and Counseling Center into a unified organization called Hanyang Resource Development institute. Through such process, Global Entrepreneurship Center enables students to get broad information on employment, start-up, leadership and counseling, strengthening its former role.
Dongguk University has merged Enterpreneurship Center, a department focusing on start-up education, with RDI. The institute is also holding liberal arts classes to cultivate enterpreneurship of students by specifying them into divisions of society and technology.
“I think such trend is a good response toward the increasing need of more jobs for students. By putting equal importance on employment and start-up, it will be easier for students to seek jobs. Also, they may consider start-up as suitable option,” said Jeong So-won (Yonsei University, 1).
Merging is not the school’s only method to help students get various resources.Sookmyung University placed centers related to employment and start up right next to each other. By locating start up information center next to career development center, students can get information regarding employment and start-up at the same time.
“Students can save their time and energy by getting access to information about employment and start up more easily,” said Park Eun-ah, manager at Career Development Center of Sookmyung University. “Although departments are not systematically connected to each other, we can at least, relieve students’ stress.”
Such trend is occuring as universities are increasingly agreeing upon the idea that both employment and start-up require students to actively prepare their future with entrepreneurship. Also, by systematically organizing departments into integrated body, the schools seek to effectively operate the organization. However, some students are concerned of the change of the system.
“As students need in-depth information of both employment and start-up, I doubt that integrating the two bodies into one can actually provide realistic help,” Lee Joo-yong (Hanyang University, 2) said. “I am a bit concerned whether such integration is the right answer for the increasing interest on employment and start-ups. It seems that the universities should rather separate the organizations to have more in depth and specialized resources.”
저작권자 © Ewha Voice 무단전재 및 재배포 금지