Analysis of University Core Competencies Considering Future Capabilities: Focusing on Universities in the Metropolitan Area

This study recognizes the role of universities and the importance of nurturing future talents in the rapidly changing era of the 4th Industrial Revolution and aims to analyze how effectively the core competencies declared by universities in the metropolitan area reflect future competencies. To this end, seven major future competencies required of university students (collaboration, convergence, integrated thinking, cultural and artistic literacy, innovation, change response, and emotional thinking) were selected through a literature review. Frequency analysis, word cloud analysis, and keyword network analysis were conducted on official documents related to the talent profile and core competencies of 60 universities. As a result, self-management, civic consciousness, communication, and creativity appeared most frequently as core competencies, and it was confirmed that the competency systems were divided into concise and extended types by university. In particular, civic consciousness, convergence, and communication showed the highest connectivity in the keyword network analysis. Regarding future competencies, collaboration and convergence showed relatively high reflection rates, while integrated thinking, cultural and artistic literacy, innovation, change response, and emotional thinking showed low rates, suggesting the need for internalization of higher-level competencies. This study provides implications for educational and administrative support to help universities effectively embed future-oriented competencies and enhance student and national competitiveness.