- Korea University of Technology and Education earned an A grade in the 2025 Research Support System Evaluation, recognizing its top-tier administrative support for research.
- The university ranked among only seven nationwide to receive the highest grade and was the only institution in the Chungcheong region to achieve this distinction.
- The evaluation highlighted its fully digitalized, transparent, and researcher-centered systems, enabling efficient research funding management and stronger support for innovation.
The Korea University of Technology and Education has been officially recognized as having the strongest administrative capability in terms of supporting research after being awarded an A grade in the '2025 Research Support System Evaluation (University Category)'. The evaluation was organized by the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Evaluation and Planning.
It specifically praised the university's excellence in creating an optimal support context that is efficient and transparent and focuses on supporting researchers. On the 16th of July, the Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation of the university proudly reported that the Korea University of Technology and Education was one of just seven universities in the entire region that earned the highest possible grade of A amongst 155 universities.
Even though no universities were granted grades of S to distinguish them from the highest possible grade of A available in this round of grading, A is basically the highest possible grade that one can receive. Additionally, the Korea University of Technology and Education is the sole university within the Chungcheong region to have accomplished this.
The Research Support System Evaluation is an assessment that is done every two years and gives a full review of the universities' research support services. The assessment looks at several areas such as the organisational and professional competence of research support teams and units, research fund management efficiency and transparency of research funding processes, and research support services to researchers across the research continuum.
The assessment seeks to enhance research competitiveness in the country by encouraging universities to develop strong administrative structures to enable researchers to dedicate time to innovation and discovery activities. As per the university, Korea University of Technology and Education performed very well in respect to every criterion used for evaluation.
Also Read: The Intersection of Talent Management and Innovation in Modern Organizations
These criteria include the operational effectiveness of the research support organization structure displayed by the university, improvements made with respect to the treatment of researchers, the transparency shown in the execution of research funds, the rational functioning of research systems within the institutions, effectiveness exhibited in addressing difficulties faced by researchers, and research support service satisfaction.
In particular, the university’s commitment to fully digitalizing research administration processes was applauded. The university has been able to simplify research fund execution, project management, and other types of applications through an automated digital interface. The university has been able to streamline processes to reduce the time involved in the research administration processes through digitalization.
The assessment also pointed out the university’s meticulous process in the governance of research, whereby training activities in research ethics, research security, as well as the management of research funds are institutionalised on a regular basis. The impact of these activities is that the community remains up-to-date with the necessary standards of ethics in research practices.
In a statement regarding the accomplishment, Lee Kyuman, the head of the Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation, stated that the "A grade is official recognition of the university’s constant endeavors towards administrative innovation in a researcher-centered manner and the transparent management of research budgets”. He also stated that the university will “continue to deepen the research support environment wherein researchers can focus more on their own research, leading to the further improvement of academic research".
