The Actual Operation of an Institution-University Collaboration Extracurricular Liberal Arts Program －Focusing on Local Community Problem-solving Living Lab Activities Cases

Abstract

The purpose of this study aims to operate an extracurricular liberal arts program that combines (combines a Living Lab with what? An object is needed here), a “Living Lab” (a problem-solving innovation platform used worldwide), and to ensure the possibility of a university liberal arts curriculum in the form of collaboration with institutions and universities. In order to derive practical Living Lab cases, major institutions of the local society and universities linked together to highlight community issues and implemented a joint team activity involving local residents (from the village community), as well as college students (from Living Lab clubs) as the subjects for problem-solving. The local community collaboration Living Lab activity was judged to be a comprehensive competency activity that can evenly develop all the capabilities of the core competency indicators of college students, and at the same time as a comparative and cultural program that proved valuable as a means of collaboration with the local community.</br>The institution of the local community where the university is located has proposed a collaborative project between participating students and supervisors (mentoring) of the university in conducting a joint Living Lab project, with a local community of residents. The aim of this ambitious project was the re-promotion of areas in crisis through the collaboration with local communities in the hopes of making use of non-face-to-face IT technology that can help residents and students alike overcome the challenges presented by the COVID-19 situation, and ultimately create a driving force behind innovation. The university decided to participate in the project together with the purpose of fostering talents who can carry out “communication and convergence” that connects universities, students, residents, and institutions beyond generations and regions.</br>As mentioned earlier, Korea's Living Lab is currently in an early stage of development compared to that of Europe and other participating regions. But since there is no systematic theory or formalized method for implementing such Living Lab programs, formative research is needed using new attempts and examples rather than following proven theories and methods. In particular, in order to apply this project as a university extracurricular liberal arts program, efforts were made to establish of a more stable university Living Lab comparison program model before the actual operation stage and result verification stage were added through (a) the tangible design stage and (b) the course design stage. was put in.</br>In the event that this type of Living Lab extracurricular liberal arts program is conducted as a “content development type program through activities,” other types of cases such as a “policy proposal program through discussion” or a “mixed policy proposal and content development program” could be sufficiently expanded upon to create multiple educational effects. We aim to complete this program with follow-up studies, and by more closely designing the program and verifying its educational effects.