Designing a Global University Around Active Learning

ENGAGEONAIR PODCAST

In the second episode of EngageOnAir, host Anita Chawla sits down with Joy Jiyeon Lee, Director of the AI Education Innovation Center at Taejae University, an institution founded in 2023 to reimagine higher education for the future. Joy explains how Taejae was designed around three priorities: a global learning experience, active learning in every course, and data and evidence to improve the model over time.

About This Episode

Taejae University was founded in 2023 to reimagine higher education for the future. This episode looks at what that means in practice, from building every course on active learning to running Engageli as the campus for cohorts in China.

Joy shares what four cohorts have shown so far, and her advice to institutions: adopt active learning sooner and use data and evidence to keep improving, because AI can already answer knowledge-based questions. This conversation is for educators, learning designers and higher education leaders.

What You'll Hear in This Episode

Key discussion topics

Active learning in every course

Lectures under 30 minutes, professor-recorded videos alongside live Engageli classes, and materials linked directly to the platform.

Design principles built with faculty

Twenty-seven pages of principles guide how each semester's videos, materials, syllabi and lesson plans are evaluated.

Professors as facilitators

Moving from the teaching methods of their own discipline to the role of facilitator and learning coach.

A global campus

Every student is sent to global cities, and Engageli serves as the campus for cohorts in China, with Estonia next.

Evidence that improves the model

What four cohorts have shown so far, and how visualizations and AI analysis help professors see collaborative learning.

Meet Our Guest

Joy Jiyeon Lee

Director of the AI Education Innovation Center, Taejae University

Joy Jiyeon Lee directs the AI Education Innovation Center at Taejae University, an institution founded in 2023 to reimagine higher education for the future. Taejae was designed around a global learning experience, active learning in every course, and the use of data and evidence to improve its model over time.

Joy is the author of The Birth of Future-Oriented Active Learning, published in 2026, which explores how universities can move beyond traditional knowledge delivery toward more active, student-centered learning. Her visit to the Future Universities Alliance summit at Duke University shaped her view that few institutions are planning to use AI, data and evidence to measure learning.