Sookmyung Brings Entrepreneurship Education to Indonesia, Empowering Global Women Innovators
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- Writer 커뮤니케이션팀
- 보도일자 2026-06-24
Sookmyung Women's University is strengthening digital entrepreneurship skills among students in developing countries through a for-credit academic course offered with an Indonesian partner university, as part of an Official Development Assistance (ODA) project led by Korea's Ministry of Education.
The Asia Pacific Women's Information Network Center at Sookmyung, host institution of a UNESCO Chair, delivered the "2026 Credit-Based Semester Program" over 15 weeks at Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia (UPI). The credit-based semester program is a flagship component of UNESCO's UNITWIN initiative, a Ministry of Education ODA project that has operated at Indonesian universities since 2024.
The program was offered in connection with MBKM (Merdeka Belajar-Kampus Merdeka, or "Free to Learn"), an Indonesian higher-education policy that encourages diverse hands-on experiences. Delivered as a course carrying full academic credit at the partner university, it pairs specialized instruction from Sookmyung faculty with field-practice opportunities.
In the first half of 2026, the course "Consumer Behavior and Digital Transformation" was offered to 30 entrepreneurship students at UPI. Professor Seoui Hong of the Department of Global Entrepreneurship and Management at Sookmyung's Graduate School of the Future taught the course, which ran for 15 weeks in a blended-learning format combining real-time online lectures with on-site instruction in Indonesia.
The course focused on understanding shifting consumer behavior in the age of digital transformation and translating those insights into entrepreneurial strategy. Students analyzed consumer-behavior cases across digital environments such as platforms, applications and social commerce, and applied consumer-behavior theory to develop strategies for companies and brands.
"Through this course, I analyzed the marketing strategies of various global brands and gained in-depth knowledge of digital market-research methods and ways to assess corporate risk amid technological change — topics I had rarely encountered in conventional classes," said student Tatsbita Andari Putri.
This year's program was designed in particular to link learning outcomes to field experience through a community internship program. Participating students will partner with local small-business owners and companies beginning in August to conduct market research and marketing activities.
Azizah Fauziyah, head of the Department of Entrepreneurship at UPI, who oversaw the program, said it is significant as "a sustainable model of international educational cooperation in which Korean faculty take part throughout a regular academic curriculum." She added, "This collaboration provides students with global learning opportunities while also enhancing UPI's global educational competitiveness and expanding sustainable partnerships between universities."
The Asia Pacific Women's Information Network Center, which had previously run the program primarily with Indonesia's Udayana University, has expanded it to UPI this year, strengthening its network of partners in Indonesia. The center plans to offer an additional course for Udayana University students in the second semester.
"Building on this program, we will pursue a range of educational initiatives to help women in developing countries acquire the entrepreneurial skills and global competitiveness needed in the digital age," said Sookjung Lee, director of the Asia Pacific Women's Information Network Center.