Ajou University ranks 11th in Korea JoongAng Daily [KHTC1]University Rankings, leading in student education and technology transfer

Ajou University ranked 11th in the 2021 Korea JoongAng Daily University Rankings, leading particularly in student participation in workplace internships, student education, and technology transfer income per member. 

Released on November 10, the 2021 Korea JoongAng Daily University Rankings assessed 44 four-year universities with at least four colleges among the humanities, social sciences, engineering, natural sciences, medicine, and the arts and physical education. The evaluation is based on four categories: faculty research, educational environment, efforts and achievements in student education, and reputation.

Ajou University received 159 points on the evaluation, coming in at joint 11th place. Previously, it ranked 11th for two consecutive years (2018 and 2019). However, due to the COVID-19 crisis, the evaluation was not conducted last year. 

In particular, Ajou University ranked sixth in efforts and achievements in student education, which evaluates student employment and participation in startup businesses. Specifically, the university performed well in terms of student participation in workplace internships (second) and support for student participation in startup businesses and performance (ninth). 

In relation to Ajou’s collaboration projects with local businesses, the Korea JoongAng Daily noted that Ajou had ranked second in student participation in workplace internships thanks primarily to Ajou’s industry-friendly program, entitled “One Person, One Company, One Achievement,”[KHTC2] which encourages freshmen and sophomores to put theory into practice and enables juniors and seniors to develop their adaptability and practical skills through an industry-academia cooperation-friendly curriculum and practical work experience. 

In fact, the university offers a wide range of internship opportunities to increase students’ exposure to diverse workplaces and allow them to apply their theoretical knowledge in the real business world. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic last year, more than 1,000 students participated in internship programs. 

In the faculty research category, Ajou ranked seventh in technology transfer income per member (KRW 14.52 million). 

Ajou has achieved great success in technology commercialization, showing an upward trend in terms of revenue from technology transfers over the past five years. Ajou recorded KRW 3.35 billion in technology transfers in 2020, putting it in seventh place. For 2020, the average technology transfer revenue of all universities in Korea that participated in the disclosure of such information to the Ministry of Education this June was KRW 710 million. 

In this year’s evaluation, Seoul National University ranked first place, followed by Yonsei University (second), Hanyang University (third), Sungkyunkwan University (fourth), and Korea University (fifth). 

The Korea JoongAng Daily applies 33 criteria for a maximum of 300 points in such four categories as faculty research (10 criteria, 95 points), educational environment (12 criteria, 95 points), efforts and achievements in student education (7 criteria, 80 points), and reputation (4 criteria, 30 points). This year, the Korea JoongAng Daily raised the maximum number of points for employment, employment retention, and increased the criteria for student participation in startup businesses. 

Source: 2021 Korea JoongAng Daily University Rankings, JoongAng Daily Website