Domestic software education should be taught with a focus on practice rather than theory.
The number of professors must be increased by establishing an appropriate evaluation and compensation system.

It is anticipated that the Fourth Industrial Revolution will create a massive number of jobs in the software industry. While the demand for software talent is increasing, entry into the field is difficult without the necessary competencies, rendering the creation of jobs largely ineffective. Consequently, there are movements to establish educational courses and introduce certifications, yet concerns remain regarding a lack of practical skills.

Koh Kun, a distinguished professor at Ewha Womans University, spoke about the issues in software education, stating, “Open source is key to the Fourth Industrial Revolution. As we move toward a hyper-connected society, the trend is toward opening up source code.” He added, “As open software becomes increasingly important, source code must be available and licenses must be free to cultivate talent.”

In software education, theoretical instruction is sufficient with available study materials and textbooks. New theories do not emerge frequently, making the subject semi-permanent, and it offers an advantage in terms of the number of research papers. On the other hand, practical education requires establishing a dedicated practice environment and creating teaching materials independently, which puts it at a disadvantage in terms of research papers. Unlike in the past, the number of courses is also increasing as students are required to learn a variety of languages rather than just one or two. The scarcity of professors compared to the number of courses is one of the difficulties facing domestic software practical education.


As a solution to this problem, Professor Ko explained, “We need to enable people working in companies to receive practical training. In addition, there must be a system to recognize and reward open source software as an achievement,” adding, “We need to establish a new department.”

China changed its standard curriculum from a theory-oriented approach to a practice-oriented approach in 2004, as the number of applicants for computer science departments decreased by 10,000 annually starting in 2000 and theoretical education faced limitations in the field.

Professor Ko stated, “Open source is not something only students learn; graduates must also learn throughout their lives. Since the number of professors is small, a system is needed for nationwide sharing,” and suggested the need to revitalize MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses). MOOCs are already well-established abroad. While utilizing foreign lectures is beneficial, he also mentioned the need for domestic implementation strategies to address issues such as language barriers and costs.

Stating that while the number of open source software courses is increasing due to its growing importance, there are many cases where classes are canceled due to a lack of students, he remarked, “Open source software is more difficult and time-consuming to study than applied software. In contrast, there is a tendency to avoid it because the compensation is insufficient.” He added, “At Stanford University, developing open source software is recognized like a research paper, provides opportunities for promotion, and guarantees tenure.” "We need to provide compensation in this way domestically as well," he said.

In addition, he added that there must be accurate evaluation and compensation for professors' achievements to increase the number of professors, and that taking courses at other universities or recognizing MOOCs for academic credit is necessary.

Professor Koh Geon also serves as the Chairman of the Open Source Software Foundation (OSSF). He emphasized, “The Linux Foundation in the United States works to promote open source software in the U.S.,” adding, “This foundation was established to research and develop Korean-style licenses. This is a task that should be undertaken by the private sector, not a public institution.”