Ewha Womans University goes global

Park Ihn-hwi, vice president for international affairs at Ewha Womans University, speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at his office in the school’s campus in Seoul, June 30. / Courtesy of Ewha Womans University

• Published Jul 22, 2015 6:31 PM KST
• Updated Jul 22, 2015 6:31 PM KST

By Chung Hyun-chae

Ewha Womans University has been stepping up efforts to raise its global competitiveness by forming partnerships with foreign institutions and running diverse international programs.

“The school has been trying to provide students with as many global experiences as we can,” Park Ihn-hwi, vice president for international affairs at Ewha Womans University, said in an interview with The Korea Times.

Ewha has become the world’s largest university for female students covering all kinds of studies. Currently it has 69 majors under 12 colleges and 15 graduate schools.

“Following calls from local and overseas communities, the school has managed to retain its status as a women’s university, unlike some others that have turned coeducational,” Park said.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon stressed the important role of women’s universities in May after receiving an honorary doctorate from Ewha in recognition of his contribution to the development of education of women.

“The world will never advance if we leave half the population behind. Women hold up half the sky. They should be given equal opportunity. That is why I call for investing in women and making sure they are paid decently for their work,” Ban said in a statement.

Taking advantage of this unique status, the school has forged partnerships with 931 institutions in 73 nations.

“Some foreign institutions have contacted us to make partnerships, citing our successful story that has no parallel worldwide,” he said. “Although in the past we only had strength in women’s studies, we now assure our partners that our engineering and natural science departments are appealing.”

Ewha established the first college of engineering at a women’s university in 1996. Further, the school’s President Choi Kyung-hee and her predecessors have actively contributed to the research fields.

Ewha has already formed partnerships with the Harvard College in Asia Program (HCAP), under which Ewha and Harvard students jointly hold academic seminars, conduct projects and promote cultural exchanges between the two countries.

Park noted that Ewha is the only local university to participate in the HCAP program for eight years in a row.

“We recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with UN Women on joint research on women education,” Park said. “We are looking to develop the partnership to provide our students with opportunities to have an internship at UN Women.”

Park also revealed a plan to sign an agreement with the United Nations Scientific, Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the China Scholarship Council to attract high quality Chinese students.

International programs

Aside from expanding collaboration with other institutions, Ewha has run various international programs.

The university is making efforts to educate women all over the world by running the Ewha Global Partnership Program (EGPP) that started in 2006 to provide scholarships covering living expenses for female students from developing countries.

The program offers undergraduate, master’s and doctoral degree courses in 30 majors.

About 190 foreign students from 39 nations have so far been accepted to the program and 98 students from 23 nations graduated from the school.

Ewha also has international programs for local students to have global experiences including exchange programs and the Faculty-Led Study Abroad Program.

The Faculty-Led Study Abroad Program was launched in 2008 to help students broaden their horizons by visiting various countries.

“Despite lacking in English skills, all students can apply for the program if they can combine 10-15 members and are led by a professor,” Park said. “We are aiming to let the whole student body have global experiences before they graduate,” Park said.

In order to attract more foreign students, Ewha is trying to increase the number of lectures that are given in English. Currently about 25 percent of the total lectures are given in English at Ewha.

“We will increase the ratio of English lectures to 50 percent in the near future,” Park said.

More than 4,500 foreign students participated in Ewha’s international programs in 2014.

“In particular, the number of students coming to Ewha through exchange and visit programs has been increasing over the past years,” Park added.

Drew Gilphin Faust received the Distinguished Honorary Ewha Fellow Award in 2013 in recognition of her contribution to the improvement of women’s social status as the first female president of Harvard University and a renowned historian. Hillary Rodham Clinton, former U.S. secretary of state, accepted the same award in 2009 for her contribution to the protection of the interests and rights of women, children and the family, and to the opening of a new era in women’s participation in public affairs. The other six dignitaries were granted an honorary doctoral degree. Ban Ki-moon, secretary general of the United Nations, was lauded for enhancing women’s rights and fighting violence against women under the U.N.’s Millennium Development Goals project. German Chancellor Angela Dorothea Merkel was praised for her successful leadership that has endowed Germany with peace and financial stability. Michelle Bachelet was credited with enhancing the rights of the underprivileged and promoting gender equity in Chile as its female president. Mary Patricia McAleese, former president of Ireland, has made efforts to improve human rights, especially for women and the underprivileged. Silvia Rose

Cartwright was honored for her dedication to ensure gender equity as a female jurist and former governor-general of New Zealand. Tarja Kaarina Halonen, former president of Finland, was also credited with her contribution to promoting human rights and advocating world peace.

/ Courtesy of Ewha Womans University