How Taejae University is Building the University of the Future with AI

Dr. Jaeho Yeom, President of Taejae University and Chairman of the Council for the Establishment of the Digital New Order at Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT, joins us for a fascinating conversation about fundamentally reimagining higher education for the 21st century.  

Dr. Yeom shares his vision for fundamentally transforming higher education to meet 21st-century demands. Taejae University operates on a revolutionary model where students rotate through global innovation centers—Seoul, Silicon Valley, New York, Shenzhen, Beijing, European cities, and Tokyo—over three years while learning from professors located worldwide. The approach rejects traditional lecture-based instruction in favor of pre-recorded content combined with AI-enhanced active learning sessions focused on discussion, problem-solving, and critical thinking. 

Throughout our conversation, we examine fundamental questions about the future of learning: How do educational needs differ between the manufacturing era and today's knowledge economy? What happens when explicit knowledge becomes universally accessible through AI and databases? What does it mean for professors to become facilitators rather than instructors? 

Dr. Yeom discusses Taejae's innovative admissions processes using AI interviews, competency assessment systems analyzing speech for critical thinking indicators, and plans to export this educational model to developing nations. We explore Korea's national AI textbook initiative, the evolving role of soft skills in curriculum design, and why the next five years will bring more dramatic changes than the previous fifty. 

The discussion reveals both the practical implementation details of AI-enhanced education and the philosophical shifts required to prepare students for a world where information access no longer differentiates educational value.