On Tuesday, January 13, The Catholic University of Korea (President Jun-kyu Choi) participated online as a specially invited exchange university in the international academic symposium titled "Key Themes and Future Developments in First-Year Learning," hosted by Providence University in Taiwan. Alongside Taiwan's National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology, Taipei National University of the Arts, and Shih Chien University, Kwangwoon University and The Catholic University of Korea were also specially invited to attend.

The symposium was held as part of a higher education innovation project supported by the Ministry of Education in Taiwan. It focused primarily on First-Year Learning, educational models and curriculum design for undeclared/liberal arts freshmen, and innovative cases in teaching and learning.

During the event, President Jun-kyu Choi delivered congratulatory remarks emphasizing the significance of international academic exchange and the importance of first-year education. In the afternoon session, Han-seok Seo, Dean of the Core Curriculum College at The Catholic University of Korea, gave a keynote lecture titled "The Catholic University of Korea’s Core Curriculum for Major Selection Among Undeclared Freshmen." In his lecture, he introduced the university’s cases of operating the "Major Self-Selection System" and its educational models, such as the DESIGNer Grade System (I-Design, Career Design) and Keystone Design, which systematically support freshmen in exploring majors and adapting to academic life.

Following the keynote lecture, a Q&A session was held with officials from participating universities, including the Center for General Education at Providence University. This symposium served as a significant platform for sharing educational innovation cases between Taiwan and Korea and for in-depth discussions on the future direction of first-year education. The Catholic University of Korea plans to continue leading educational innovation through ongoing international cooperation and academic exchange.