Jeju National University is stepping up efforts to attract international talent in science and engineering fields.

As competition among universities nationwide to recruit outstanding foreign students continues to intensify, Jeju National University plans to strengthen its recruitment strategy by leveraging the K-STAR visa track, which can be linked to permanent residency.

Reporter Lee Jeong-hoon has the story.

Inside a laboratory at the College of Engineering at Jeju National University, most of the researchers gathered around the lab benches are international students.

In fact, more than 80 percent of the members in this laboratory are international master’s and doctoral students.

While the scene of researchers handling advanced equipment and analyzing experimental data appears dynamic and energetic, the reality is that without these international students, conducting research would be virtually impossible.

[Interview | Hyunji Eom, Research Professor, Green Hydrogen Glocal Leading Research Center, Jeju National University]
“Students who have specialized in various research fields support our work in many ways. In terms of international collaboration, some researchers also work closely with scholars in their home countries, which enables us to produce research outcomes with much greater synergy compared to conducting independent research.”

In fact, international students make up a substantial proportion of science and engineering programs at Jeju National University’s graduate school.

According to university data, there are 233 international master’s and doctoral students enrolled in the graduate school, and 132 of them—about 56 percent—are in science and engineering fields.

However, this figure has remained largely stagnant over the past five years, as declining student populations and heightened competition among universities nationwide have intensified the race to attract global talent.

In response, Jeju National University plans to actively recruit international science and engineering talent through the K-STAR visa track.

Under this system, foreign researchers can obtain residency status in Korea through a university president’s recommendation, with the possibility of later transitioning to permanent residency, providing a stable foundation for long-term residence and research activities.

[Interview | Arul Saravanan, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Mechatronics Engineering, Jeju National University]
“Korea has a very well-established system that connects research stages all the way to final product commercialization. This structure—where research leads directly to market-ready products—is a major factor attracting more international talent to Korea.”

Jeju National University aims to accelerate its transformation into a ‘Glocal University’ by attracting outstanding international researchers and students.

[Soundbite | Il-hwan Kim, President of Jeju National University]
“If we identify foreign students in fields aligned with Jeju’s strategic industries—students who earn their PhDs here and demonstrate excellence in all aspects—we believe the K-STAR visa, which allows for permanent residency, can be sufficiently activated.”

As competition among universities across the country intensifies, attention is now focused on how powerful Jeju National University’s permanent residency-linked visa strategy will be in attracting global talent.

This has been KCTV News, reported by Lee Jeong-hoon.

Source: KCTV (Reporter Lee Jeong-hoon, lee@kctv.com)