Diplomacy Journal Lee Sung Jun | DigiPen, a global leader in game and AI education, joins hands with Korea Aerospace University to build a “Global Education Ecosystem”
A new turning point for Korea-U.S. educational cooperation as Korea Aerospace University and DigiPen fully pursue joint campus establishment

Korea Aerospace University announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with DigiPen Institute of Technology, a world-renowned university specializing in games and software located in Washington State, USA, to strengthen global education and research cooperation.

The signing ceremony took place on April 27 at 3:00 p.m. in the Seminar Room of the Industry-University Cooperation Foundation on campus.

Attendees included President Heo Hee-young, Dean of the College of AI Convergence Ahn Jun-sun, Dean of the College of Engineering Park Sang-hyuk, Dean of the College of Aviation and Management Kim Jin-ki, Director of Planning Hwang Wan-sik, and Director of International Exchange Kim Sang-woo.

Representing DigiPen Institute of Technology Korea Campus were Co-CEOs Kim Hyung-soo and Kim Jong-woo, along with COO Park Jung-bum. In addition, Min Kyung-sun, the Democratic Party of Korea candidate for Mayor of Goyang Special City who pledged to transform an office building in Baekseok-dong, Goyang into a high-tech industry-academia convergence center, attended the event and emphasized his determination to attract the joint collaborative campus.

Through this agreement, the two universities agreed to establish a “global education ecosystem” and pursue cooperation in 10 areas covering education, research, and industry-academia collaboration. Key areas of cooperation include conducting joint research, exchanging professors, researchers, and students, conducting cross-registration and credit exchanges, operating dual degree programs, and sharing educational and research materials as well as academic information.

The core of this agreement is the promotion of the establishment of a joint collaborative campus in Korea. This model is based on the global campus system that DigiPen Institute of Technology has already successfully operated overseas. DigiPen has operated a local campus in Singapore in cooperation with the Singaporean government since 2010 and also maintains a campus in Bilbao, Spain. The institution has particularly demonstrated strong global competitiveness by achieving high employment rates in the field of computer science.

Once the joint collaborative campus is established, a convergence curriculum combining Korea Aerospace University’s specialized aerospace education with DigiPen’s global practical training know-how is expected to be launched. The two institutions plan to jointly design and operate specialized curricula integrating aerospace, semiconductor, game, and content industries into DigiPen’s core educational fields, including artificial intelligence (AI), real-time interactive simulation, game design, and digital art and animation.

DigiPen Institute of Technology was founded by Claude Comair, co-founder of Nintendo of America, and is known for establishing the world’s first four-year bachelor’s degree program in game programming. Located near Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Washington, the institution continues to provide practice-oriented education based on industry-academia cooperation networks with global companies such as Amazon Web Services, Meta Platforms, and SpaceX.

President Heo Hee-young stated, “Through collaboration between Korea’s leading comprehensive aerospace university and a world-class university in the digital media field, we will be able to present a new model of convergence education,” adding, “We will make the establishment of the joint collaborative campus a turning point in enhancing the global competitiveness of Korean education.”

Janson Chu, Vice President of DigiPen Institute of Technology, stated, “We have high expectations for this partnership with Korea Aerospace University as it will enable us to secure an educational hub in Asia and provide world-class computer science and game design education to Korea’s brightest talents.”

Following this agreement, the two universities plan to establish a working-level consultative body and proceed step-by-step with specific implementation plans, including selecting the location of the joint collaborative campus, determining the scale of operations, and designing dual-degree curricula.