Global Social Innovation Center(Shin Hyun-sang as Director) at Hanyang University announced that it hosted the 'Sustainable ESG Leadership Program 3.0 Korea–Japan Living Lab Exchange' from August 21 to 23 in Osaka, Japan. The exchange program was organized to recognize outstanding students selected from the university’s extracurricular programs in the first half of 2025 and to provide an opportunity to share and exchange student-led Living Lab project results with Japanese universities and institutions.

The exchange aimed to achieve several goals: learning ESG-related information and exploring global social issues; experiencing exemplary overseas cases and engaging in institutional exchanges; strengthening problem-solving capacity for local communities; and seeking sustainable Korea–Japan co-prosperity models linked to advanced programs.

The delegation visited major institutions and sites in Osaka to directly experience Japanese social innovation practices. On the first day, August 21, they visited the facilities of Japanese sports brand Mizuno to learn about the corporation’s social value creation activities. They also conducted interviews and surveys with local residents in Osaka’s New Town area to hear the perspectives of the community.

On August 22, a joint presentation session was held with Osaka University members, Sakishima community residents, and local students. Hanyang students presented their Living Lab project results based on Seoul’s Sageun-dong commercial district, which included: redesigning and improving laundry shop services; implementing storytelling marketing campaigns; and establishing global promotional strategies for Korean restaurants to attract foreign customers. Japanese experts and students provided critical feedback and engaged in in-depth discussions.

Osaka University students presented four team projects conducted with local residents in the Sakishima area, after which participants from both countries joined a networking event titled 'Sakishima Living Lab Gathering.'

On August 23, the group attended the 5th Korea–Japan Living Lab Network Forum, where they shared and discussed various Living Lab case studies from both Korea and Japan, particularly focused on addressing the climate crisis and super-aging societies.

Director Shin Hyun-sang noted, “This was an opportunity for our students, who demonstrated excellence in the first semester program, to showcase their capabilities on an international stage. It was a meaningful experience that confirmed the potential for locally based innovation models to transcend borders and expand globally.”

Participating students remarked, “Our small experiments that started in the local community grew more convincing when we connected them to field cases in Japan. We hope to continue challenging ourselves as social innovators.”

Through this exchange program, Hanyang University plans to strengthen cooperation with Osaka University and local institutions, while deepening extracurricular education programs that integrate ESG values with Living Lab approaches. Also, the university aims to support students to become active innovators in both local and global contexts.

Meanwhile, Hanyang University’s Global Social Innovation Center continues to operate diverse social innovation programs linking education, research, and practice to create social values and foster a sustainable future. As Asia’s only Ashoka U Changemaker Campus, Hanyang University actively participates in international social innovation networks such as the Talloires Network and AVPN(Asia Venture Philanthropy Network). Since 2018, it has also partnered with Stanford University to publish the Korean edition of Stanford Social Innovation Review(SSIR), contributing to the development of impact ecosystems both domestically and globally.