Founded in 1954 to fulfill the dearest wish of empowering and bringing prosperity to the nation, Inha University stands for the Ideals of building students' characters, searching for the truth, and serving society to embody the University's founding principles of creativity, diligence, and service.
"Truth," the school's motto, indicates we as a research university endeavor to contribute to improving the nation as well as all human society, to embark on great ventures into the world, and to attain academic achievements in our quest for truth through continuous education and training. Based on the above ideas, we strive to attain the following goals to build character in our students, foster healthy ideas, and achieve our educational objective of cultivating talented individuals who will contribute to the nation's Development and human society by studying profound theories and applying them in reality.
In the 61 years since the founding of INHA University, we have contributed significantly to the high-quality education of well-trained individuals, the Development of cutting-edge technology, the creation of new ideas and methods, and the discovery of new knowledge. Because of these contributions, our graduates have been top runners in industry and technology in Korea.
In the past few years, our staff, students, and alumni have been working with the local community to achieve impressive progress. INHA University has opened opportunities for specialization, globalization, and further Development through constant innovation and adjustment.
Currently, INHA is building a comprehensive global campus in Songdo International City. Equipped with the innovation research facilities, INHA will prepare to be one of the world's top 100 universities and a significant force for further growth in Korea.
With the establishment of the Law School focusing on the fields of intellectual property and logistics, we have taken a further step to be a distinguished educational institution.
We look to a brighter future by committing to a belief in education as a practical search for truth and truthful character. Hanjin Corporation will always walk in step with INHA into our brighter future.
It has been over 50 years since Inha University was established upon the ideals of leadership and expertise, and service to the country. A mainstay in the port city of Incheon, Inha has long produced talented professionals for the science and technology sectors, who exceed the expectations of the nation and its people.
In 1952, amid the Korean War, the first President of Korea, Dr. Syng Man Rhee, proposed the foundation of an educational institute that would provide expertise and hope to a lagging industrial sector. The driving force behind the proposal was the will and determination of a group of Koreans who had emigrated to Hawaii 50 years earlier. Financial resources for the foundation came from the proceeds of the Korean Christian Institute's sale, an organization founded and managed by Dr. Rhee to educate the children of the original emigrants, donations from Korean emigrants in Hawaii and domestic supporters, and a government subsidy. Incheon city donated a school site, and in February 1954, construction began in earnest, to finally have the Inha Institute of Technology opened later the same year.
The Inha Institute of Technology, with its unique history and great mission to foster excellent students who would contribute to the Development of the nation's scientific and technological industries, was funded to do so with the help of substantial government subsidies and foreign aid from UNESCO and the German government. The initial funding and additional donations, such as the 200 million won donation by the Hanjin Trading Co. in 1968, equipped the institute with modern experiment facilities.
In a move to improve the Inha Institute's management, the Board of Trustees was reorganized, and Dr. Choong-Hoon Jo and Dr. Jwa-Kyung Seong assumed the positions of Chairman of the Board and the Dean, respectively. On March 15, 1976, Dr. Jae-Chul Lee assumed the position. On December 29, 1981, Dr. Hee-chul Kim was inaugurated as the 4th president, solidifying the basis toward one of the prestigious universities in Korea.
Taking office as the fifth president on December 30, 1983, Dr. Tae-Won Park introduced the motto 'Researching University, University advancing into the world' and worked to secure exceptional professors, encouraged more significant research, and established the medical school. He also implemented the computer network system connecting the administration and including the library, thus maximizing administrative efficiency. He also modernized the language education program in preparation for the global era and built the student center, one of the best student welfare facilities in the nation.
On February 24, 1990, Dr. Young-moo Won took office as the 7th president. He contributed to the opening of Inha University Hospital in May 1996. While on March 1, 1994, commemorating the historic 40th anniversary, Sung-ok Cho, the 8th president, assumed the position with the ambition of making Inha an internationally-recognized university within ten years. He focused on the improvement of educational quality and investment in the high-tech sector.
On October 31, 1997, Dr. Yang-ho Cho, chairman of the Hanjin Group, took the post of Chairman of the Board and ambitiously invested in the school's development. Dr. Gun-Il Roh became the 9th president on March 1, 1998, and established the system providing practical work experience for students through educational reform. Another step to achieving his goal of becoming one of the most prestigious universities in the 21st century was to boldly invest in educational facilities by building dormitories, the electronic library, and the Inha Hi-Tech center. As a result, Inha was selected as the most outstanding University in educational reform in 2001 and maintained its position as an outstanding university for four years. The achievements during his term paved the way for the second foundation of Inha.
On March 1, 2002, Dr. Seoung-Yong Hong became the 10th president. He presented the Mid and Long term Development Plans to prepare for the significant developments in Northeast Asia, high-tech science, and globalization. The plan has set five goals: 1) Increase and improve practice-based education to produce professionals who meet the demands of the nation and the times 2) The establishment of an 'e-campus' in preparation for the age without borders 3) Improvement of the education environment and investment in research capability 4) The ideal combination of choice and focus in instruction 5) A significant increase in the university development fund. As a result, Inha ranked 9th in the 2004 university evaluation conducted by JoongAng Daily newspaper, consolidating its reputation as a prestigious university. The top 10 rankings came, as Inha marked its 50th anniversary, on April 24, 2004, celebrating the past, present, and future of the University.
President Seoung-Yong Hong was reappointed as the 11th president to recognize his contribution to the school through university reform, establishing an improved educational infrastructure, improvement in university evaluation, and globalization. Bon-Su Lee took over as the 12th President on March 1, 2009. He worked hard to lead Inha into a new era through innovation and communication to establish the Inha Law School and the Songdo Global Campus. He also focused his efforts on providing excellent educational programs for global intellectuals. Under Dr. Lee's presidency, Inha achieved many things including: 'A-Class Rank' for 11 consecutive years ('00~'10) by the Ministry of Education and Science Technology, 6th among Korean universities in the number of SCI-level paper publications, Korean National Quality Award granted by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, and University Assessment Accreditation certified by the Korean Council for University Education. Inha was also selected for four consecutive years ('08~'11) to participate in the Educational Capacity Enhancement Project, was ranked as the best University by IT Industries ('11), and stood 5th in graduate employment among all Korean universities ('11).
In order to strengthen the school competitiveness, Dr. Choon-Bae Park, who became the 13th President on March 1, 2012, pushed forward reforms including improvement of the educational management system, structural adjustments to establish interdisciplinary programs, the foundation of the professional management system of colleges, and a performance evaluation system for faculty/administrative staff.
Dr. Soonja Choe was inaugurated as the 14th President on February 25, 2015. She has presented three slogans: 'Excellence in Education,' 'Innovative Research' and 'Connecting with the Community.' As action plans to achieve these essential goals, Dr. Choe has proposed and is working hard on establishing a customized student counseling service system, a frontier college for 1st-year undergraduate students, and 30 world-class research centers on smart campus. Under her presidency, Inha is also actively working to help public education in the City of Incheon by offering management consulting and educational services.
Today, Inha boasts 11 colleges: Engineering, IT Engineering, Natural Science, Economics and Trade, Business Administration, Education, Law, Social Science, Humanities, Human Ecology, Medicine, and 54 departments. Inha University's Graduate school offers master's degree programs in 51 fields and 45 doctoral programs. The Graduate School of Education has 22 master's programs and research courses. The Graduate School of Business Administration offers two MBA programs and a business management course for executives in addition to offering a part-time MBA program. The Graduate School of Engineering offers 12 programs and research courses. The Graduate School of Public Administration has five programs and research courses. Founded in September 2006, as the first school of logistics in Korea, the Graduate School of Logistics offers a Global MBA and doctoral programs in logistics, and the Law School offers masters and doctoral programs in law.
Today, Inha University is making its utmost effort to foster professionals with academic knowledge and skills, and a character befitting the school motto of "Truth." Inha has already produced as many as 160,000 graduates who are now leaders in industry, science, and technology. Also, we believe in a balanced education that includes the liberal arts, far too often forgotten in an increasingly digitalized world. Inha has a firm belief that the real purpose of a university, the Development of human spirits, lies not in the quantitative and external expansion but the realization of human values and the nurturing of creativity. Motivated by our prominent tradition, all at Inha will never stop their efforts to fulfill its mission as a center of comprehensive studies and arts.
April 9, 2015. Ranked as the Best University in Industry-perspective University Evaluation by the Ministry of Education in energy, environment, and biomedicine October 28, 2014. Construction of 60th Anniversary Memorial Hall begins. October 2, 2014. Inha University in Tashkent(IUT), Uzbekistan, is opened.
