Korea University Gives New Twist to Globalization
By Kang Shin-who
Staff Reporter
Leading School Expanding Presence in Asia, Africa, Europe, Americas
Korea University (KU) is giving a new and unique twist to globalization. This new brand of globalization is led by its president, Lee Ki-su, himself an alumnus of the high-rated private university.
Lee’s globalization is unique because, under his leadership, the school is not just reaching out to schools in the United States and Europe but also extending its footprint into Mexico, Nepal and Uganda.
The new curriculum is not just pushing students to become well-versed in English and a second foreign language but also in Chinese characters, the fracas lingua that ties up Asia in the rejuvenation of the Middle Kingdom. Through these measures, Lee believes that his university is well positioned to beat Seoul National University in an area where it sees its rivals as weaker.
``Forty percent of our courses are conducted in English only. In addition, prospective professors at our school are required to be able to lecture in English,’’ Lee told The Korea Times.
Moreover, Lee is pushing for local students to master Chinese characters and another foreign language other than English before graduation as he believes communication skills are very important to help make them global leaders.
Under his aim to foster ``brand talents,’’ the school head has also introduced various leadership courses along with volunteer activity programs. ``2010 is the Year of the Tiger, the animal being a symbol of our university. We expect we can build bridges this year to become one of the world’s 100 top universities, and make every effort to realize that goal,’’ Lee said.
Pushing his ``KU 2030’’ plan, (which will be completed by that year), Lee is seeking to get the university listed among the top 100 universities in the world by 2015 and the top 50 by 2030.
Since Lee took office in 2008, each college and department at the university has gained more autonomy. He has made each department decide its annual budget according to its own development plans in three categories _ education and funds, research and globalization.
In addition, KU has introduced self-evaluation systems, and based on the results, departments that make significant achievements could gain incentives and more funding, while departments that are rated poorly will face deductions in financial aid.
Several graduate schools have been established under his leadership. ``Green School’’ is looking to solve energy and global environment problems, while ``Fusion Software’’ fosters human resources in the IT field. A design school is also planned.
Graduate schools are scheduled to be merged and integrated to improve research capacities and accordingly the admission quota of schools will be readjusted.
For its globalization project, KU will continue to invite renowned scholars from abroad to develop itself as a research-oriented institute. It is working with 700 institutes and organizations from 72 countries. Some 1,200 students have been sent to overseas partnership schools and 760 foreign students have been part of exchange programs, while some 900 foreigners are studying at the school as permanent students for bachelor’s degrees.
Also, about 130 international scholars are involved in research and the teaching of students.
The university’s summer international school program is the largest of its kind in Asia, inviting more than 1,500 students from overseas.
KU is the only Korean member of Universities 21 (U21) and last year hosted its annual general meeting under the title ``The Role of the University in Influencing Public Policy.’’
Founded in 1997, U21 engages in a number of research activities and involves 22 leading universities around the world. Collectively, it has over 650,000 student members, employs over 130,000 staff members and has over 2 million alumni.
Korea University is also participating in world university associations and consortiums. In 2008, it joined the ``Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU),'' established in 1997, to promote scientific, educational and cultural collaboration among universities in the Asia Pacific region. Members include Stanford University, UC Berkeley, Peking University and Keio University.
Lee said these ties enable the school to undertake a number of projects with world-class institutions.
On top of this, he plans to launch ``Internationalization Version 2.0 Project,’’ which includes upgrading globalization programs at the university. The project aims to produce regional specialists and establish a ``One-stop Service Center’’ for foreign professors and students.
The university will build a new campus in Sejong City in South Chungcheong Province to provide for 3,600 students. ``The campus also aims to be a role model for university-industry cooperation,’’ Lee said.
The government will invest 3.54 trillion won into the science-business city by 2015, which will house global science technology firms, Korean conglomerates, universities and academic institutes.
The university plans to set up a pharmacy college on its Sejong campus, so that it can establish research clusters of medicine, pharmacy and life sciences. It has already applied for approval for the pharmacy college with the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology. Lee said he expects his school will get permission from the ministry.
Established in May 1905, Korea University has some 20,000 undergraduate students and some 9,100 graduate students at 15 colleges with 14 graduate schools. It has 3,570 Korean faculty members along with some 200 foreign professors.
