On January 12, President Seung Ryul Jeong of Kookmin University (Republic of Korea) led a delegation to visit SUES. President Lou Yongqi met with the guests at the Co-op Comprehensive Building on Changning Campus. The two universities held a high-level meeting and a signing ceremony for the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Educational Cooperation. Representatives from the International Office and School of Design (in development), along with relevant faculty members, attended the meeting.
President Lou Yongqi extended a warm welcome to President Jeong and his delegation, and introduced the development history and distinctive characteristics of SUES. President Lou noted that SUES is firmly committed to serving regional economic and social development by integrating industry resources into education. SUES strives to construct an innovative educational ecosystem driven by the integration of engineering, management, and design—a “3-wings” model for interdisciplinary innovation. He emphasized that innovation serves as the core engine for SUES’ growth, transforming knowledge into products, services, systems, and organizations, with the ultimate goal of building a world-class university of applied innovation.
Elaborating on SUES’ positioning and potential directions for collaboration, President Lou further stated that SUES seeks to break the boundaries between disciplines and campuses, actively engaging with cities, industries, and society. Students at SUES are encouraged to pursue interdisciplinary learning and real-world practice. He emphasized that building a world-class, application-oriented, innovative university is not about imitation or conformity, but about continuous exploration and the development of a distinctive identity through practice. Facing global industrial transformation, he highlighted the importance of openness in higher education and expressed his hope that both universities, building on their highly aligned disciplines, would jointly explore future-oriented models of talent cultivation and innovation.
President Jeong expressed sincere gratitude for the warm reception and introduced the history and educational philosophy of Kookmin University. He noted that Kookmin holds distinctive strengths in engineering, industry–education integration, and design. He also emphasized that Kookmin has long championed entrepreneurial spirit, experimentation, and continuous innovation. Besides, he noted that its related practices are at the forefront among universities in South Korea. President Jeong observed that the two institutions share similar educational philosophies, disciplinary structures, and practice-oriented approaches, providing broad prospects for collaboration. He expressed high expectations for substantive cooperation in engineering technology, design innovation, and emerging fields such as artificial intelligence. President Jeong also invited President Lou and faculty and students of SUES to participate in the DBEW Award 2026, an international design competition, to jointly promote youth design and innovation.
During the meeting, both sides conducted in-depth discussions on topics such as talent cultivation, interdisciplinary collaboration, design education, and international competition cooperation. Recognizing strong complementarities in engineering foundations, design innovation, and international education, the two universities agreed to take design workshops and faculty–student exchanges as starting points for cooperation, with the aim of advancing student exchange and research collaboration in the near future. Subsequently, Presidents Lou Yongqi and Seung Ryul Jeong signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Educational Cooperation between the two universities.
During the visit, President Jeong and his delegation also toured the teaching facilities and laboratories of School of Design (in development), gaining deeper insight into SUES’ achievements in industry–education integration, practice-based teaching, and innovation-driven education in the field of art and design.
The visit and the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding mark a significant step forward in the collaboration between SUES and Kookmin University, injecting fresh momentum into deep cooperation and joint development in the field of applied innovative higher education.
