Pukyong National University Establishes Flagship Research Institute, Accelerating Shift to Research-Centered University

[Financial News] Pukyong National University is establishing the Pukyong Flagship Research Institute to oversee interdisciplinary and strategic research as it seeks to transition into a research-centered university.
Pukyong National University held a briefing on its “Comprehensive Plan for Transitioning to a Research-Centered University” in the main conference room of its headquarters on the 16th.
President Sang Hoon Bae served as the presenter at the briefing. He explained five initiatives, including the establishment of the Pukyong Flagship Research Institute, to university members and shared the university’s vision and direction for transitioning into a research-centered university.
PKNU is responding to the rapidly changing research and development environment, centered on the AI transformation (AX) and national strategic technologies, while pursuing a fundamental shift toward becoming a research-centered university. It plans to significantly strengthen its research competitiveness by establishing a full-cycle support system covering research planning, winning national projects, conducting research, nurturing talent, and disseminating results.
PKNU has laid the foundation for becoming a research-centered university through its strong research capabilities. Its research funding received per full-time faculty member ranked first among the country’s 25 national universities, according to the 2025 information disclosure by the University Information Disclosure System. In the 2026 QS World University Rankings by Subject, five fields—including chemical engineering, ranked 301–350—entered the rankings, along with environmental science, business, economics, and chemistry. As of 2025, the proportion of papers in the top 25% by CiteScore reached 64.7% and continues to rise.
PKNU plans to expand these research strengths into university-wide collective and interdisciplinary research capabilities. Specifically, it will pursue the transition to a research-centered university through five initiatives: establishing the Pukyong Flagship Research Institute; strengthening research capabilities and supporting efforts to win strategic national projects; creating a researcher-centered environment conducive to research; building an interdisciplinary, research-centered learning ecosystem; and expanding the research ecosystem to create a virtuous cycle of research outcomes.
Established earlier this month, the Pukyong Flagship Research Institute is an independent research organization directly under the president. It will operate as an “AI-based full-cycle platform for interdisciplinary research” that brings together the university’s fragmented research, education, and administrative capabilities and supports large-scale national projects from planning and winning bids to implementation and dissemination of results.
To support this effort, PKNU has also established a linked cooperation system in which the Graduate School and Research Affairs Office—created by reorganizing the existing graduate school and research support office—and the Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation support the Pukyong Flagship Research Institute.
The Pukyong Flagship Research Institute will go beyond building an internal research ecosystem and actively expand its capabilities externally. PKNU plans to establish a “Research Pentagon” by expanding cooperation with companies, government agencies, government-funded research institutes, and universities in Korea and abroad. Through this initiative, it will create a virtuous cycle of research outcomes by expanding joint degrees with domestic and international universities, introducing industry-linked degree programs with companies, and pursuing joint research and technology commercialization.
President Bae said, “As Pukyong National University celebrates its 80th anniversary this year, it has been reborn as a specialized comprehensive national university encompassing interdisciplinary and advanced fields, building on its strong foundational academic capabilities in marine and fisheries studies and engineering following the merger of Busan National Fisheries University and Busan National University of Technology.” He added, “We will do our utmost to transform the university into a world-class research-centered university capable of responding to cutting-edge research and development in the region and the nation.”


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