A South Korean visiting scholar is studying how Georgia Tech approaches AI governance, data stewardship, and collaboration, with lessons that may help shape future education policy in his home country.
In his native South Korea, Sanghyun Jang served as director of the Education Data Center at the Korea Education and Research Information Service (KERIS), where he developed policies governing the use of artificial intelligence in education.
To inform that work, he has researched beyond his home country, asking how higher education institutions, including those traditionally data-driven, can evolve in the age of AI and how they are responding to that change. He brought this question with him to Georgia Tech.
With an academic background in computer engineering and a specialization in computer vision, a core technology behind modern AI, he has worked with AI-related concepts and technologies long before they became widely commercialized and part of everyday life.
Where Data Meets AI
“I have long believed that data would become the 'oil' of the future—a critical resource driving innovation, economic growth, and decision-making. That belief naturally led me to focus on data governance and AI, which I see as essential to the future of education, industry, and society,” he said.
Jang's research on data-informed institutional decision-making in the age of AI underscores the need for thoughtfully designed data governance to ensure data accuracy and trustworthiness and to protect personal information.
At universities, Jang has observed practices that fragment data production and management, including colleges pursuing independent projects, siloed administrative practices that discourage interdepartmental sharing, and passive approaches to its exchange due to concerns about personal data protection. As a result, a centralized data governance framework is necessary to oversee and coordinate data across the institution.
The biggest challenge with AI in higher education “is not how fast you adopt AI—it’s whether you can govern it responsibly. Without clear policies and accountability, rapid adoption can create more problems than benefits,” he said.
AI in Practice at Tech
In South Korea, Georgia Tech has long been recognized as one of the world's leading innovation-driven universities, particularly in applied technology and research. Because Jang's work focuses on higher-education innovation, he was already familiar with Tech’s reputation before coming here as a visiting scholar at the Center for 21st Century Universities (C21U) in the College of Lifetime Learning in October 2025. In fact, he recommended Georgia Tech to his son during his college search.
Jang first connected with C21U at the 1EdTech 2022 Digital Credential Summit and later reached out to explore collaboration, which led to his invitation. From day one, he set out to observe how the Institute integrates diverse forms of institutional data across campus and uses it to support student success and inform broader decision-making in the age of AI.
Alongside Director of Research in Education Innovation Jeonghyun (Jonna) Lee, he has facilitated virtual seminars and advanced cross-institutional knowledge exchange between Georgia Tech and Korean institutions. He also collaborated with Lee on a project to explore learner personas over their lifetimes and to design recommendations for a learning platform to support them. Because Jang has expertise in lifelong learning research and policy in Korea, his input has greatly benefited this project.
“There is real momentum toward building thoughtful, shared approaches to AI,” Jang said, reflecting on campus discussions. He also noted that the Institute invites scholars to host seminars and conferences, offering opportunities to hear expert perspectives and incorporate them into institutional practice.
A few months into his residency, he presented “Strategies for Using Data and AI in Education” at a C21U Learning Lab. The session brought together leaders from AI-related units across the Institute, demonstrating that they are actively exchanging ideas and working toward better AI policies and guidelines.
Based on what he has seen at Georgia Tech, Jang views the Institute’s efforts to implement AI usage guidelines as a strong example. For him, it is particularly significant that the policy treats AI as a technology that affects “teaching and learning, research, and everyday operations,” he said. “It treats AI as part of the entire institution—not just a classroom issue.”
“While some institutions approach AI primarily through a 'ban or allow' framework, Georgia Tech combines controlled access, experimentation, training, and security review,” he added.
One aspect that stood out was that responsible data stewardship is embedded in everyday research practice, not just in formal governance procedures. Georgia Tech provides researchers with a clear, structured pathway for using de-identified institutional data, with appropriate oversight and training. “Responsible access to data is what makes meaningful research possible,” he said.
Rethinking What Matters
On a personal level, Jang’s time at Tech made him realize that the future of institutional research will be defined not by data collection alone but by an institution’s capacity to connect data, governance, human judgment, and AI to support better decisions for students, faculty, and society. One way he has seen this at the Institute is by preserving space for individual initiative and innovation while fostering collaboration within the Institute and beyond.
“People take ownership of their work while enjoying the freedom to explore,” he said. “This drives innovation at the Institute and across its fields, thereby amplifying each individual’s impact.”
During his time here, he has participated in seminars and conversations across campus. Jang would like to bring back to South Korea the strong collaboration among higher education institutions, local communities, and industry that he observed in Atlanta and at Tech. His son, Ricky Jang, a third-year Yellow Jacket majoring in industrial engineering, recently participated in a program in partnership with Invest Atlanta to address challenges facing the local community. The students presented their project outcomes and received feedback in the mayor's presence. In some cases, students’ ideas were accepted on the spot, later leading to business development by companies or policy initiatives at the city government level.
“This showed me that Tech’s education extends beyond classroom knowledge. It offers practical, problem-solving learning experiences that connect academic knowledge to real-world community challenges,” Jang said. “Experiences like this create a powerful ecosystem in which universities, industry, and communities work closely to solve problems and drive innovation. I believe this model could have a significant positive impact in South Korea as well.”
Specifically, Jang plans to recommend to the policy team of the South Korean government's Regional Innovation System & Education (RISE) initiative that they examine the Institute’s collaborative model and consider incorporating its practices into future policy design and implementation. “Such benchmarking could help build a more sustainable regional innovation ecosystem and reduce the long-standing imbalance between the capital region and the rest of the country,” he said.
His time at Georgia Tech has provided him with valuable data for his ongoing research and unexpected opportunities. In South Korea, his work consumed most of his time, including frequent business trips, leaving little time for himself. By contrast, although Atlanta’s traffic has been challenging, the campus and reduced work travel have given him more time and space to reflect.
“My experience at Tech has broadened my understanding of AI’s role in society—not just as a technology, but as a tool that must be guided by trust, responsibility, and public engagement,” he said. “Surrounded by nature and spending more time with my family, I find myself thinking every day about how AI and humans should collaborate and coexist, and about the essence of humanity, the redefinition of work, and the role of education—questions I keep returning to.”