September 16 marked the successful conclusion of the Kyung Hee University (KHU) International Student & Scholar Services (ISSS) team’s 2025 Global SDGs Team Challenge. Part of the University’s most recent initiatives to enhance academic cooperation between international and Korean students, the program brought together 30 participants of diverse nationalities to fly abroad and research sustainable development practices around the globe. Starting back on May 7 and working throughout the summer vacation, students researched diverse topics, creating a seven-page report as well as a 10-minute presentation. With solid results, proper funding, and positive reviews by those involved, the ISSS plans to organize more such programs in the coming months.

The 2025 Global SDGs Team Challenge

This year’s Global SDGs Team Challenge, the first pilot program of its kind, provided a unique opportunity for international and Korean students to bond and travel abroad with substantial university funding. According to the program description, there were four main objectives: increase international student engagement, promote understanding among students of diverse backgrounds, foster student interest and skills related to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and strengthen global citizenship amongst participants. “We wanted a program centered on enabling global students to become proactive team leaders, while fostering interactions between international and Korean students,” explained ISSS assistant manager Kim Eun-jung.

Recruitment began on May 7 via website notices and the ISSS team’s official Instagram account (@khu_isss). The rules for the initial application were straightforward: International students from both the Seoul and Global campuses could create teams of up to four, including at least one Korean student. Each team needed to elect one international student as their team leader, whose country would then become the subject of the team’s research. With the leader selected, the final step was to fill in a project proposal and submit it by email.

The program drew more participants than expected: 30 out of 90 applicants were selected for a total of eight teams, double the number the ISSS had planned for. This was a surprise; according to assistant manager Kim, similar KHU programs usually had low application rates. “This really confirmed for us that there is demand for these kinds of programs,” she said.

Scholarships were granted in three categorical sums according to the distance of each team’s destination. Teams headed for locations closer to Korea, such as Japan and China, received 1 million won for each member. Mid-range distances such as Hong Kong received 1.5 million won, and further-away regions such as Indonesia and Singapore were granted the maximum amount of 1.7 million won.

The eight teams were then given the entire summer vacation to travel abroad, conduct field research, and develop their final reports. September 5 was the due date, and teams also participated in a final 10-minute presentation on September 16, sharing their results in front of fellow program members and the ISSS team. All eight teams completed their tasks without significant budget overruns.

Wide-ranging Research and Meaningful Lessons

After all teams had completed their research and submitted project reports, the presentation session commenced at 18:00 in lecture hall 507 of the Cheongwoon Building, Seoul Campus. All eight teams, as well as representatives from the ISSS, attended the event.

When the group presentations began, the topics were wide-ranging; teams had focused on diverse fields related to sustainability. The Indonesia team headed to the city of Jakarta, uncovering correlations in accessibility to public transport between high- and low-income areas. The Malaysia team flew to Klang Valley, exploring the area’s developing flood management infrastructure and the world’s first dual-purpose stormwater drainage vehicle tunnel. The Hong Kong team lodged at Kowloon and organized extensive tours around the district’s advanced civic waste management infrastructure. The China team compared career education policies in China and South Korea, while the Uzbekistan team presented a similar, albeit much more somber, reflection on social perceptions regarding mental health problems and suicide in both nations.

After introducing their topics, teams went on to share their experiences on the field. Often, team members had meaningful opportunities to interact with locals during fieldwork. For instance, the Japan team visited local children’s organizations and administrative officials to have direct conversations about how children in poverty could be supported more effectively. The Vietnam team participated in a plogging session with Hanoi’s environmental workers to experience local efforts against water pollution, collecting 40 kilograms of waste by the end of the three-hour trek.

Teams then went on to present specific solutions to improve local sustainable practices. For instance, the Singapore team discovered foreign worker accommodations in the area lacked privacy and space, through extensive interviews and surveys. To address this issue, two of the team members, as majors in KHU’s Dept. of Housing & Interior Design, applied their academic studies to design an improved four-person living-quarters layout using Computer-Aided Design (CAD) software. Drawing upon Japan’s capsule hotels, they implemented a similar capsule-style bunk to ensure worker privacy, while also providing communal space for social activities.

Positive Reception and the Road Ahead

As the presentation session drew to a close, teams voiced their final thoughts on the program. All eight teams expressed overall satisfaction with their projects. For some, the fact that the 2025 Global SDGs Team Challenge was a pilot program actually encouraged them to be more creative. “I think we were lucky to be the first batch of students to participate in this program. The lack of reference material and specific guidelines actually helped our team to approach the topic in more diverse directions,” explained Jung Chae-eun, a member of the Japan team. For others, the program was a broader opportunity to make international connections and build friendships. “It was great to meet Korean students whom I can now call friends,” added Furue Nanami, Jung’s teammate.

Some participants also provided constructive feedback to the ISSS representatives to help them improve future programs. A few teams said they would like long-term project options. “It would be great if the ISSS connected teams with KHU faculty to further develop completed projects. This could really help students expand their ideas and provide opportunities to submit program results to external competitions and corporations,” said Kim Ye-chan from the Singapore team. Others also requested the use of more accessible digital formats for official ISSS forms, instead of the current .hwp files.

In response, assistant manager Kim expressed her views on the program. “Student proposals were genuinely insightful and showed great potential. We did not expect such detailed policy recommendations when we first started the program.” Looking ahead, Ms. Kim stated that “I cannot say for certain there will be a 2026 Global SDGs Team Challenge at this point—the University has to approve our proposal for that to happen. But now we know there is much more demand than we thought.” With regard to student feedback, she added that “We will try to lengthen the field research period, establish clearer program objectives, and expand opportunities for students to take their project results and develop them into longer-term activities such as external contests, faculty mentoring, awareness campaigns, research papers, and more. We hope to gradually improve the process through future efforts, taking into account whatever feedback we can.”

The 2025 Global SDGs Team Challenge was a unique opportunity for international students to visit their home countries with sufficient scholarship to explore sustainable practices, whilst further connecting with fellow Korean students. It was also a chance for KHU students to experience global efforts toward sustainability directly, using their academic skills to analyze problems and present solutions. As a pilot project, the program undoubtedly has hurdles to overcome. However, the project results and student feedback clearly show the potential and demand such programs have at KHU. The University would do best to look into the success of the 2025 Global SDGs Team Challenge program and create more such opportunities for its students.