1. Gearing Back to Normal with Offline Classes and Events

With the lifting of social distance regulations, KDI School has returned to conducting offline classes and events. To kick off the celebration of the easing Covid-19 measures and the end of the spring semester, a soccer festival was held. Being the long-awaited offline event for such a long time, it attracted 250 participants. Moreover, following the soccer event, the Song and Dance Festival took place this summer semester. Fifteen amazing teams performed representing the cultural diversity of KDI School. Last but not least, the International Food Festival was held in the middle of the fall. This attracted not only students but also professors and staff eager to dig in to an array of delicious and diverse dishes.

Apart from cultural events, KDI School launched and resumed volunteering activities. One of them is the KDI School Talent Donation Program which allows students to visit local schools and talk about their countries, thereby making Sejong a more international city. Finally, to enhance KDI School's commitment to environmental protection, the Plogging Day was organized. More than 100 students came together to make our neighborhood a cleaner place to live.

2. KDIS Minimizes Covid-19 in Campus with Proactive Measures

Despite the nationwide lifting of restrictions on wearing masks outdoors, KDI School put in additional efforts to minimize the number of Covid-19 infected students. Thus, by issuing a 7-day quarantine measure that obliged new dormitory residents to stay in a temporary room and conduct PCR tests on the 1st, 3rd, and 5th day of quarantine and continuous operation of self-quarantine rooms for students with symptoms, only less than one fourth of dormitory residents tested positive for Covid-19.

3. New Slogan: KDI School, where the difference begins

Another way to celebrate KDI School's silver anniversary was the replacement of the school slogan. Hence, instead of the previous "Shape the world, pioneer the future" slogan, a new one "KDI School, where the difference begins" was introduced. This emphasizes the role of a think tank in creating differences by providing differentiated education and delivering the school's vision of the future. 

4. Newly Launched DPPM: Ph.D. in Public Policy

In an effort to respond to the high-quality educational needs of public officials, KDI School launched a new Ph.D. program in Public Policy and Management. This comprehensive Korean and English-based course allows domestic students to improve their problem-solving skills through developing policy, management, global, and convergence competencies.

5. Special lecture for Envoys Held for KDI School’s 25th Anniversary

To celebrate the KDI School's 25th anniversary and strengthen the cooperative relationships with the diplomatic community in Korea, Professor Cho Dong Chul conducted a special lecture titled '50 Years of Korean Economic Development and Tasks.' Held for the first time in three years after COVID-19, the lecture aimed at broadening the understanding of Korea's political and economic issues amongst the ambassadors and diplomats visiting the country.

6. External Linkages Strengthened with New Partner Universities

In the pursuit of ongoing improvement, KDI School continues to establish new partnership expansion with other world-leading universities in the area of public policy. Therefore, in the framework of cooperation, the school launched a dual degree program with the John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and signed an MOU with the Hertie School of Governance. These partnerships will allow students from KDIS's Global Masters Programs (GMP) and partner universities to have mutual exchange visits to each other’s countries.  

Moreover, under the newly established partnerships, 15 students from the Free University of Berlin have already visited KDIS to have a campus tour. 

7. K-Developedia Expands Further on Its 10th Anniversary

This year, K-Developedia, an online knowledge-sharing platform for Korea's socio-economic development experience, celebrates its 10th anniversary. Starting from the database containing information primarily on Korean development, it has expanded over the past ten years to include international content. For example, it now contains research papers from various development institutions on Korean geopolitics, polarization, and fiscal economics.

8. 1st Policy Strategy Program for Senior Officials Conducted

In alignment with the school's mission of educating public personnel, KDI School launched a course focusing on problem-solving capacities for senior leaders in 12 public enterprises. These included at least 20 managers from government organizations in the fields of public transport, finance, agriculture, trade, and so on. 179 lectures, institutional visits, domestic workshops, and overseas training were conducted in the framework of a new course.  

9. KDIS Website Gets Makeover

As a part of creating a better user experience and smoother conditions for current and future KDIS students, the school reorganized its website. A new homepage has a more user-friendly interface that is consistent with trends and facilitates non-face-to-face education and provision of services. Moreover, a newly introduced "one-stop service" allows current KDIS students to obtain needed information more easily, which simplifies the work for both staff and students

10. One Step Forward to a More Sustainable School Operation

One of KDI School's global missions is to foster sustainable ways of living. And in light of this mission, the school has launched various campaigns such as Pure, Plogging Day, and so on. Recently, on February 2022, KDIS established a "Paperless System" to digitize their accounting process not only to prepare for the post-COVID-19 era but also to implement innovative smart administration. This paperless method brings forth an environmentally friendly operation, supports Work Diet, improves work efficiency by eliminating the physical boundaries, and most importantly, helps build a green office.