On February 21, the Office of Information Service & Strategy at Kyung Hee University (KHU) announced the discontinuation of Kyung Hee Talk service due to the cessation of technical support from its developers and irreparable message transmission errors. In response, the KHU Smart Campus Project Team is currently developing an integrated Smart Campus application (app) as an alternative.

  The KHU Smart Campus Project Team was established last June and started app development, including preliminary investigations, from July. Kim Kyung-soo, a director of the team, outlined the core objectives of the Smart Campus Project into three stages. The first stage involves consolidating the existing school-related services ? including mobile student identity document (ID) ? into a single app. The second stage entails improving and expanding the convenience and function of the integrated app. Finally, the last stage focuses on improving the existing student competency system. Currently, the team is working on both the first and second stages.

  Director Kim emphasized the enhanced convenience of the integrated app. He said, “With the integrated app, it will be possible to handle class or school-related announcements, mobile student IDs, and access to school buildings, all on a single platform.” Among the various functions, Director Kim particularly highlighted that students will be able to properly receive school announcements, which had not been working well on Kyung Hee Talk.

  However, communication service between professors and students, previously supported by Kyung Hee Talk, is not included in the current app development plans. He mentioned that the addition of the feature could be considered in future app upgrades but it is hard to tell whether it will happen due to technical limitations. Despite the constraints, Director Kim firmly stated his will to reflect as many needs of students and staff as possible. “For future app expansion opportunities and high user satisfaction, we are developing an app with scalability,” he said.

  For more effective app development, KHU operates the Smart Campus Student Advisory Group (SAG). The first SAG focused on gathering feedback on the app’s user interface design, while the second, recruited last month, is testing app features and handling the app advertisement. Following the app’s launch in September, a third SAG will be formed to provide feedback on the released app and contribute ideas for the project’s third stage. Director Kim stated that SAG recruitment will continue to foster coordination between the school and students.

  In addition to SAG, the Smart Campus Project Team collaborates with the General Student Associations of both campuses. Director Kim also mentioned plans to incorporate a feature for anyone to submit suggestions within the app, aiming to gather as many opinions as possible. He expressed hope that students would extensively use the new integrated app and provide many suggestions, since little drops make the mighty ocean.

  The integrated Smart Campus app, slated for launch in September, is scheduled to undergo beta testing in July or August. Following the app’s release, the Smart Campus Project Team plans to oversee the initial app operations and initiate the third stage of the project: enhancing support for student competency. The new integrated KHU app is expected to significantly improve students’ convenience, surpassing the functionality of Kyung Hee Talk.