On May 2, the second public hearing on the establishment of the proposed School of Transdisciplinary Sciences and Engineering (TSE) was held in Terman Hall of the Creative Learning Building (E11). The first public hearing on TSE took place November of 2017 (refer to Volume 158) to address the student community’s concerns about the new policy. After heated discussion between the TSE Promotion Team and student participants, the hearing ended on an ambiguous note without settling an agreement between the two sides. The second hearing was thus aimed at resolving the unanswered questions from the previous hearing and providing additional student feedback to the school.
The hearing consisted of two parts. Professor Jong-Duk Kim, Head of the TSE Promotion Team, first gave a presentation of the TSE establishment proposal. A Q&A session during which students were allowed to freely express their opinions and concerns regarding the matter followed.
The establishment proposal presented at this hearing did not differ significantly from the one given in the first. TSE students will be trained to develop transdisciplinary core competence for more freedom in their career development. In their second year, students will have to take six “basic transdisciplinary” courses, each of which cover a different field of science. In addition, they will attend a seminar led by KAIST professors and mentors from various professions who will guide the construction of their own curricula and career plans. From their third year, students can take either “advanced transdisciplinary” courses or courses from other majors of their choice. Transdisciplinary experiment courses and the University Team Research Program (UTRP) will prepare students to participate in an internship program outside of KAIST before graduation. The plan for the six basic transdisciplinary courses and three advanced courses is scheduled to be completed by this August. Additional advanced courses are to be continuously developed. According to the plan, the program will launch next semester so that students of the Matriculating Class of 2018 can choose to take part.
Professor Kim repeatedly emphasized that the goal of TSE education is not to create omnipotent scientists that are experts in every area of science. Rather, the aim is to provide students with a basis for communication with researchers of different disciplines that will enable them to perform transdisciplinary research. As rapid change and complex problems characterize our current society, there is nothing to be done today that does not involve the fusion of different fields; TSE will prepare students to collaborate with others to flexibly solve real-world problems in such conditions.
Despite the school’s positive assertions, students were largely unconvinced about the viability and potential of TSE. Many expressed the same concerns that were brought up in the first hearing, criticizing the school for failing to properly address the discussed issues. Most notably, the necessity of an entirely new major was questioned. The predominant opinion was that the current 4-track system and the freedom to change majors suffice to provide students with a transdisciplinary background. Students demanded that the school provide a more clear and persuasive advantage of TSE instead of vague assertions. Another prominent concern was regarding the school’s short preparation time for the establishment of TSE. A student in the audience pointed out that the Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering, which the school presented as the prime example of a school with a successful transdisciplinary program, invested six years in developing its program. Preparations for the KAIST TSE, on the other hand, had only started last September. More time for deliberation and fine-tuning is needed, argued students, before a stable program can be created.
Apart from the establishment plan itself, there has also been mounting criticism concerning the manner with which the school has been managing all TSE proceedings. Many have expressed indignation that the school was completely disregarding the opinion of the students, who are the direct objects of the new policy. No effort has been made to incorporate student opinions collected in the first hearing on the policy — most notably, the school had made no change in their plan and schedule despite the student vote to have the establishment of TSE postponed. The demand for transparency in TSE proceedings escalates as students cry for a democratic school society.
To deal with the situation, the Freshman Student Council has collected signatures from 341 students and filed a joint signature requesting a policy vote for the re-examination of the TSE establishment proposal.
Voices of fear at the potential of continued exclusion of student opinion in future school proceedings persist.