SEOUL, South Korea — Hanyang Cyber University (HCU), led by President Ki-Jung Lee, has achieved a significant milestone by being named one of the world's most innovative universities for the second consecutive year in The World University Rankings for Innovation (WURI) 2025. This makes HCU the first-ever Korean cyber university to accomplish this feat.
The announcement was made during the 5th Hanseatic League of Universities (HLU) Conference held in the Philippines this past July. Following its success last year, where it ranked 6th globally among domestic universities in the Cultural/Culture domain, HCU secured the 47th spot this year in the Student Support and Engagement category, placing it in the Top 100 for the second year running.
A Focus on Future-Oriented Values
Now in its sixth year, the WURI ranking distinguishes itself from traditional Anglo-American university evaluations, which typically focus on academic tradition and teaching performance. WURI assesses the entire spectrum of input, process, and outcome, focusing on future-oriented values such as innovation, inclusivity, and social impact.
For the 2025 rankings, three new categories were added, bringing the total to 16. The evaluation involved 4,866 programs from 1,253 universities across 86 countries. In the overall ranking, Minerva University took the first place, followed by Arizona State University (2nd), and École 42 (3rd).
AI-Powered Program Drives Student Success
Hanyang Cyber University entered the "Student Support and Engagement" category with its HY-LIGHT program, which utilizes AI for learning data analysis and provides personalized learning and career development support. The program was ranked 37th among all participating universities in this domain.
HCU's HY-LIGHT program works by calculating a learner's risk of academic withdrawal and their psychological learning profile, subsequently offering customized learning support and content. The university has filed a patent application for this AI-powered data analysis and personalized learning support system.
The program has demonstrated remarkable effectiveness, reducing HCU's student dropout rate from over 20% in 2019 to 13.8% in 2024, firmly establishing its positive impact on student retention.
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