According to the press agency Yonhap many foreign researchers are still among the professors of two private universities, Yonsei and Korea, even though they neither teach nor reside in South Korea. This situation suggests that these universities are exploiting the flaws in the international rankings rating system.
More precisely, according to ranking criteria such as QS or Times Higher Education, if a scientific article mentions two or three establishments, each of them can take it into account in their research results. Some universities have reportedly taken advantage of this mechanism to appoint foreign researchers to academic positions without requiring them to work directly within the establishment.
Yonsei and the “Frontier Lab” program
Since 2017, Yonsei University has implemented the Yonsei Frontier Lab program to attract international researchers. In particular, the university offers incentives to encourage researchers to list Yonsei as an affiliated institution in their publications.
Therefore, these “collaborative” research articles can benefit from financial support of up to $30,000 (approximately VND 790 million). Over the past six years, researchers participating in the program have published hundreds of scientific articles.
During the same period, Yonsei’s ranking in the QS rankings rose from outside the top 100 (in 2018) to 70th place in 2023.
A Yonsei University representative said the foreign researchers were recruited during the Covid-19 pandemic, but the university terminated the contracts of around 15 people in August 2022 due to concerns about the lack of authentic interactions. The program is now suspended.
Yonsei University also denied asking the researcher to name its university in the article, saying the financial support was only to cover travel and living expenses.
Suspicions are emerging about the presence of “so-called academics” within a Korean university.
Since 2023, Korean universities have been implementing a similar program, the K-Club, which attracts around 150 international researchers. The university’s ranking in Times Higher Education is expected to increase from 200th place (in 2024) to 156th in 2026.
Analysis of Scopus data reveals that of 8,707 Korea University publications last year, 1,011 were linked to 80 foreign visiting professors from the K-Club program. As of mid-March this year, approximately 12.5% of the university’s total publications came from this group.
Most researchers still work mainly at universities and research institutes abroad. After being appointed as visiting professors or full professors, they mention Korea University as the second or third institution in their scientific publications.
We cite in particular the case of Zahoor Ahmed, a Pakistani associate professor who publishes an article every two weeks on average, but who has never worked directly in a Korean university.
It is notable that only about 8% of the approximately 1,600 papers attributed to Korean universities were co-authored with full-time faculty members at the university.
The school speaks.
Korea University says the K-Club program aims to promote international research collaboration through a flexible model, including online activities such as seminars and distance learning.
School officials said this is a global trend, citing examples of schools like Harvard, MIT and Imperial College, which have also implemented similar models.
The university also said that about 19% of its researchers, ranked among the top 1% in the world by Clarivate, have multiple affiliations. Last year, nearly 70 K-Club researchers proposed joint research projects with professors from across the country, and 21 groups received funding.
Regarding the low co-signature rate, the Korean side indicated that this was a common delay in international research, with publications requiring time to be finalized. At the same time, the university rejected the term “ghost professor”, saying that all appointments are reviewed according to appropriate procedures.
The university representative stressed that low presence in Korea or lack of direct teaching experience should not be the sole criterion for evaluating a researcher’s contribution.
Source : https://vietnamnet.vn/dai-hoc-top-dau-bi-nghi-su-dung-hoc-gia-nuoc-ngoai-de-cai-thien-thu-hang-2503480.html
