Sogang University Launches Dual Strategy to Recruit Global Scholars

Sogang University has begun preparations to recruit world-renowned scholars as faculty members. The initiative aims to enhance the university's competitiveness in international research networks (IRN) and collaborative research, which have gained greater weight in various university evaluation metrics. Sogang University is also creating platforms for existing faculty to engage in collaborative research while securing outstanding external researchers.

According to education industry sources on the 8th, Sogang University is developing various programs to recruit top-tier scholars as full-time or visiting faculty. The university headquarters and individual departments plan to actively search for and identify outstanding researchers in each academic field, build a candidate pool, and pursue research collaboration with the most suitable scholars.

Sogang University President Sim Jong-hyuk said, "We will proceed with a project to discover and appoint talent deemed suitable as Sogang faculty from among top-tier scholars in each field." He added, "The budget for this project has already been allocated in this year's budget, and we are currently receiving candidate recommendations."

Sogang University has developed two distinct recruitment systems—the Magnus Scholar program and the SAGE (Sogang Academy of Eminence) program—with different strategies for full-time and adjunct professors. A university official explained, "Magnus represents a groundbreaking improvement to our faculty appointment and compensation systems to attract outstanding researchers with world-class research capabilities. SAGE is a program we are pursuing to expand Sogang's research network by searching for, discovering, and supporting globally excellent researchers."

The university targets recruiting eight top-tier scholars in total—four each in 2024 and 2025. Sogang University plans to integrate these scholars into the "Sogang Global Research Network" and encourage them to co-author papers with existing faculty. The university also plans to offer industry-leading compensation packages, including salary and housing support.

President Sim said, "If departments that successfully recruit distinguished scholars see their research capabilities improve, we expect other departments will competitively participate in 'bringing in scholars.'" He predicted, "This will ultimately result in an overall leveling-up effect."

Beyond scholar recruitment, Sogang University is pursuing various initiatives to enhance faculty research capabilities. A prime example is the "Sogang AI-X Peers" forum, launched in November last year. This cross-disciplinary forum brings together faculty from all fields to learn and share methods for utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) in education and research.

President Sim said, "Through the AI-X Peers forum, professors from various fields have come together to design studies and projects and actively exchange ideas, including securing research grants." He added, "Currently, about 10% of our faculty can integrate AI with their specialties, and we expect this ratio to increase further." Monthly brown bag meetings at AI-X Peers will provide opportunities for idea exchange among researchers and expand collaborative research opportunities.