Universities selected for the multibillion-won Glocal University 30 project will aim to innovate their curriculum with the funding, with some focusing on offering more support to international students to build a larger student body.

Ten winners were announced for the Glocal University 30 project on Monday. They will be each given 100 billion won ($75.6 million) for the next five years.

The project funds universities outside the greater Seoul region, and the government hopes the fund will help universities gain a competitive edge amid many students preferring schools in the greater Seoul region.

The selected six universities are Gyeongsang National University, Sunchon National University, the University of Ulsan, Jeonbuk National University, Pohang University of Science and Technology (Postech) and Hallym University.

The remaining are four coalitions, which are Kangwon National University and Gangneung-Wonju National University; Pusan National University and Busan National University of Education; Andong National University and Gyeongbuk Provincial College; and Chungbuk National University and Korea National University of Transportation.

Attracting more international students is one of the main goals of universities.

Jeonbuk National University has 1,011 international students as of 2023, but its submitted project plan says it aims to have 5,000 by 2028.

To do so, the university plans on creating a so-called global campus in countries such as China, Morocco, Kyrgyzstan, France and Thailand. The global campus system will allow students to take online courses for a year in their respective countries and then come to the university to study for three years for an undergraduate degree.

Proposed measures to attract international students also include opening a career development center for them and creating internship and job training programs specifically for students from abroad.

Although a specific date wasn't proposed, the university said it will not admit students by majors in the future, giving students the freedom to choose whichever major they like.

Working with nearby cities, the university plans to open an industry cluster hosting secondary battery, defense and semiconductor companies in Saemangeum, North Jeolla.

A cluster with agriculture, life science and green hydrogen companies in Jeonju and Wanju and another with veterinary medicine in Iksan and Jeongeup, all in North Jeolla.

The coalition between Chungbuk National University and Korea National University of Transportation aims to create a global campus abroad that focuses on teaching Korean culture.

A combined bachelor's and master's degree program will be created, allowing students studying abroad to come study at the two universities for a certain period.

Focusing on industry-academia partnership, Chungbuk National University's Ochang campus and Korea National University of Transportation's Jeungpyeong campus will host research and test bed centers regarding battery, bio, chip and mobility.

Other universities will mainly focus on strengthening high-potential programs and partnering with local businesses.

Gyeongsang National University aims to work closely with research centers and companies in defense and aerospace, as South Gyeongsang, the province it is in, is known for the fields.

Sunchon National University will focus on smart farming, animation and new materials as its main offerings, allocating 75 percent of its student quota to those fields.

The University of Ulsan will focus on areas of study needed in the auto, shipbuilding, chemical, battery and biohealth industries, as Ulsan is home to many companies in those industries.

Hallym University will focus on medical, bio, humanities and AI, while the coaltion between Andong National University and Gyeongbuk Provincial College will focus on cultural studies.

Pusan National University and Busan National University of Education will establish a teacher training-focused campus that focuses on training elementary, middle and high school teachers. Currently, the education university only trains elementary school teachers.

Postech vowed to use the funding to support student research and entrepreneurship.

Universities will have to submit specific plans on how they aim to carry out their proposed goals with the funding.

However, for the four coalitions, there's a major breakthrough they have to make, and it is the merger between the partnering schools. Otherwise, the coalitions lose their funding.

"Universities that applied as coalitions have to submit a proposal to merge within a year," Kim Woo-seung, vice chairman for the Glocal University 30 project committee, said. "If they fail to do so, strict measures will be taken, such as funding being taken away."

Chungbuk National University and Korea National University of Transportation plan to merge by March 2027. Andong National University and Gyeongbuk Provincial College plan to do so by March 2025. Kangwon National University and Gangneung-Wonju National University will do so by 2026.

Pusan National University and Busan National University of Education might struggle as they face student opposition despite the two signing a memorandum of understanding for a merger in 2021.

After the universities decided they will apply for the Glocal University 30 project as a coalition in May, Busan National University of Education's student union and alumni association held a protest on the university's campus.

The education university specializes in training elementary school teachers and is expected to be integrated into Pusan National University's college of education.

The school's students and alumni have been saying that integrating a university that's only focused on raising elementary teachers into a general teaching program can hurt the quality of education.

Universities that were shortlisted for this year's project but didn't make it to the final selection vowed to apply again next year.

Five universities — Soonchunhyang University, Chonnam National University, Inje University, Yonsei University Mirae Campus and Handong Global University — were part of the shortlist announced in June but failed to make it to the end.

The shortlisted universities may go through a simpler evaluation process next year, although, for this year, the evaluation took place over eight months.

"There is criticism that the sunk cost is too big for universities that go through an eight-month evaluation period but don't get selected in the end," Choi Eun-hee, head of the Education Ministry's higher education policy division.

"After taking more opinions into account and going through discussion, we will announce if [shortlisted universities] can maintain that status when we start applications for 2024."

The ministry will announce announcements regarding next year's project in January 2024.

BY LEE TAE-HEE [lee.taehee2@joongang.co.kr]