Duke Shares Values With SNU
By Kang Shin-who
Staff Reporter
Duke University plans to forge a strong partnership with Seoul National University (SNU), especially in producing business leaders.
``SNU shares our core values and overall mission of preparing business leaders to take on new challenges in a new era,’’ Douglas T. Breeden, dean of the Fuqua School of Business at the university, told The Korea Times in an interview.
Under the partnership, students on the SNU global MBA program could continue their studies for one year at the Duke business school and earn the MMS degree.
The following is an interview with Breeden.
Question:
What does Duke expect to obtain through the agreement with SNU?
Answer:
We want to provide SNU’s new Global MBA students with the chance to pursue the MMS degree at Duke University. We also want to reiterate our strong interest in partnering with SNU in the areas of open enrollment and tailored Executive Education. Duke’s Fuqua School of Business places a high value on diversity of all sorts, and the chance to welcome more students from Asia to our MBA programs furthers our commitment to diversity and will enhance the educational experience for all our students.
Q:
How many universities in Asia have you made agreements with so far?
A:
We have student exchange agreements with several top schools in Asia, plus a new executive program with the Indian Institute of Management at Ahmedabad. But none of these programs are as deep and comprehensive as our partnership with SNU.
Is the school trying to market itself to Asians? How does the number of Korean students compare with the number of students from other Asian countries?
The Duke business school has been very deliberately marketing itself internationally for some time. We have been an active player in South Korea for a number of years, as South Korea routinely ranks as second or third _ behind India _ among countries of origin for our international students. South Korea provides roughly the same number of our students as China and Japan.
How has the proportion of foreign students changed over time? How has this affected the education students receive at your school?
The number of foreign students at the business school has increased over time, and there are several reasons for that. First, new business markets are emerging as power players in the world economy, and those markets are experiencing rapid growth. This has fed the demand for advanced degrees. In addition, business schools _ and our school is no exception _ have stepped up efforts to reach out to prospective international students. Certainly, new technologies have played a role in the increasing number of students pursuing international studies. Thanks to the Internet, e-mail, and other innovations, it’s much easier for students to research programs worldwide and to participate in those programs.
Could you give some advice to Korean universities that hope to rank their MBA programs as high as Duke?
I believe success begins with the faculty. You must draw faculty members with a dedication to research, people who want to be part of a team working toward a common mission, people who reflect the values of the school. A motivated and skilled staff is also vitally necessary. More broadly, a university must stay true to its vision and goals. All these things take a great deal of commitment and determination. There is no “halfway” to excellence.