From metacognition and self-directed learning in the AI era to lifelong career development — the five research areas KYEDI focuses on for the sustainable growth of youth and adults.
As AI and digital technology make knowledge and information more accessible, the capacity to think, learn, and lead one's own growth becomes ever more important.
This area explores the core human competencies required in the AI era and researches educational models — centred on metacognition and self-directed learning — that help people monitor and regulate their own knowledge, competencies, and learning to sustain lifelong growth.
The Institute views a career not simply as choosing a job, but as a process of understanding oneself, exploring possibilities through diverse experiences, and actively designing one's life and career.
Building on self-understanding of youth tendencies, values, strengths, and competencies, this area connects experience and reflection to career exploration and capability development, and researches self-directed career development models that empower young people to explore and design their own paths.
Youth growth is not achieved through one-way knowledge transfer alone. This area researches mentoring, coaching, and pedagogical methods that help individuals understand and reflect on their experience and find their own answers to growth.
In particular, we develop education and mentoring models that move mentors away from unilaterally handing over ‘right answers’ toward using questions, feedback, experience, and reflection to help people discover their own competencies and lead their own growth.
This area researches integrated support systems that organically link career guidance, education and training, and employment services — from initial career exploration through entry to the world of work and job retention.
Going beyond employment-first support, we research integrated career and employment support models that connect self-understanding and career development with education/training and real labour-market experience, enabling youth to continuously develop their careers and competencies.
Career development does not end with graduation or first employment; it is a lifelong process of exploration and redesign that responds to changes in one's environment and life.
This area researches lifelong career development systems and practice models that help individuals respond actively to life-cycle changes and shifts in the labour market, continuously exploring and transitioning their careers and developing new competencies.