Our Business School is strengthening its core values of educational and research capabilities, and striving to foster talents for student success and future value creation. To this end, we have invited new faculty members with outstanding capabilities for the first semester of 2026. We met with Professor Na-kyung Kyung, a new faculty member majoring in Management Information Systems who recently joined the Business School family, to hear about her 'major research activities, major, and future plans.'

Q1. Hello, Professor. It is a pleasure to meet you! Could you please introduce yourself?

Hello. I am Na-kyung Kyung, and I joined this year majoring in Management Information Systems. Nice to meet you! Before coming to Sungkyunkwan University, I worked at the National University of Singapore for four years. My research focuses on measuring the changes brought about by the introduction of AI to businesses and society using quantitative and scientific methods. In particular, I pursue 'research outside the lab,' including field experiments, and conduct research closely connected to actual industrial fields.

Q2. Could you briefly introduce your major, and what made you choose this field?

My major is Management Engineering. Management Engineering is a discipline that systematically analyzes and solves management problems using mathematical models and statistical and econometric methods, rather than relying solely on sense or intuition. To achieve this, during my Ph.D. program, I built a solid mathematical foundation, including data analysis and econometric methodologies, and received training to apply them to real-world industrial problems. You could say it is a major slightly closer to the natural sciences and engineering. I was particularly fascinated by the idea that you can only improve what you can measure. Another important reason was the opportunity to collaborate with various IT companies. The fact that there are many opportunities to solve problems occurring in actual corporate fields together based on data was a great appeal, leading me to choose it as my major.

Q3. Could you share your thoughts on making a new start at Sungkyunkwan University Business School and your future plans?

I am truly happy and excited to make a new start at Sungkyunkwan University. In particular, I have heard from many people around me that the students at SKKU Business School are very outstanding and diligent, so I am looking forward to the time I will spend learning and collaborating with both undergraduate and graduate students. As I stand at a new starting line, I will try my best to make meaningful contributions to both education and research with a sense of responsibility as a member of the SKKU Business School.

Q4. What are your research plans going forward?

My short-term research plan is to focus on developing ongoing collaborative projects into research achievements. Since collaboration data with various industry partners, including a healthcare app company I have worked with for a long time, has already been accumulated, I intend to spend time systematically organizing it and completing it into academically meaningful results. At the same time, I want to answer more fundamental questions. Will AI truly replace jobs? Will companies move towards reducing or halting employment? If so, how will the meaning of work and jobs for humans be redefined? Recently, there has been a trend of employment contraction and restructuring centered around IT companies, and I also want to examine how these short-term efficiency strategies affect companies' long-term innovation and growth.

Q5. Could you tell us what you consider to be the ideal educator?

I believe the ideal educator is not someone who provides the right answers, but someone who helps students see broader perspectives and possibilities, allowing them to explore on their own. As I felt while researching and guiding students abroad, undergraduate and graduate students in Korea, in particular, are exceptionally outstanding and diligent compared to the population size, and their research capabilities are also quite high. Since they are students already equipped with potential and execution ability, I think what they need is not excessive control or having everything done for them, but appropriate direction and strategic guidance. I want to be an educator who helps each and every student discover their strengths and interests and expand them into greater possibilities. An educator like a gatekeeper who explores new paths and possibilities together beyond just conveying knowledge—that is the ideal image I aspire to.

Q6. Lastly, do you have any messages you would like to convey to the students of Sungkyunkwan University Business School?

Everyone, the door to my lab is always open. Please feel free to come and talk to me anytime, whether it is about research concerns or even seemingly trivial questions! Also, we always welcome those who want to join in hands-on research, learning by experiencing things outside the lab, rather than just staying with theories and formulas!