In order to foster the knowledge economy, collaboration between government, industry and academy is becoming increasingly important. The Triple-Helix (government-industry-academy) model is geared toward innovation in academic institutions and the transfer of academic knowledge to industrial and/or societal domains. This article studies crucial…

Recent discourse about the fourth industrial revolution has revealed several issues in Korea, suggesting the need for fundamental changes in the industrial structure and higher education systems, which can prepare Korea for potential periods of technological unemployment. For example, labour expenses in Korea are predicted to be rapidly reduced if…

The expansion of the higher education system and the rationalization of universities in South Korea, while broadly following the global patterns, reflect the characteristics of the national political system. We show the rapid growth of universities and document core organizational changes among universities: the elaboration of faculty performance…

This study examines the Korean Government's policy scheme of setting up the World-Class University (WCU) Project by investigating the perceptions of major actors, including WCU scholars and government officials. In-depth interviews were held with 18 WCU scholars and three government officials. Our findings suggest that the limits of the…

The purpose of this study is to provide an overview of the Korean government's policies for building world class universities (WCUs) and their implications for Korean higher education institutions. Primarily through an extensive literature review, but also through a discussion of field interviews and the experiences of one of the authors as a…

This article explores the role of the Korean government in expanding private higher education over time and attempts to examine the impact of such expansion on access to and equity in higher education. The enrolment rate in Korean higher education has increased to over 80% within the past 60 years. This can be attributed to two factors: the rapid…

This paper explores the current situation of universities in Korea in an era of reform. University reform was initiated by the government in the 1980s and brought to the universities in the 1990s. In the interval, there have been many social, economic, and political changes in Korean society. The current approach to university reform in Korea…

Education reform has become more popular than ever, and the incorporation of public institutions of higher education is one such reform. Eventually, Korea will see its national universities being incorporated. The legislature passed a law on March 7, 2007 that requires a new national university to be established as a National University…

The following papers were presented at this international conference: (1) "Key-Note Report by the Research Institute for Higher Education" (Kazuyuki Kitamura); (2) "Major Dimensions in the Relations between the State and Higher Education" (Neil J. Smelser); (3) "The Role of Government in Japanese Higher Education"…