HUFS signs MOU for upgrading campus

Kim In-chul, second from left, president of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (HUFS), poses with dignitaries at HUFS Seoul campus, Friday, during an MOU signing ceremony for the development of the school's Songdo campus. The participants are, from left, Kim Yong-sik, senior manager at Korea Investment & Securities; Kim In-chul; Kim Yong-sik, head of the construction project division at Hyundai Engineering & Construction; and Jeong Hyang-don, head of Zinol D&C. / Courtesy of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies

By Lee Hyo-jin

Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (HUFS) will strengthen business cooperation at its Songdo campus based on a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed with three companies ― Hyundai Engineering & Construction, Korea Investment & Securities, and Zinol D&C.

The MOU signing ceremony took place at the HUFS main campus in Seoul, Nov. 20. The three companies have agreed to invest 300 billion won ($269 million) in the university's innovative campus development plan in Songdo, Incheon.

The event was attended by Kim In-chul, president of HUFS, Kim Yong-sik, head of construction project division at Hyundai E&C, Kim Yong-sik, senior manager at Korea Investment & Securities, and Jeong Hyang-don, head of Zinol D&C.

Based on the agreement, the university will use 240 billion won for the establishment of a data platform complex, and 30 billion won each to build an academic complex and a global standard dormitory.

HUFS said the establishment of an industry-academia data platform is the main goal of its Songdo campus development plan. The platform ― which is to be equipped with data storage as well as processing, analysis, and knowledge extraction services ― will enhance data science studies and produce leading experts in the field, the school said.

It will also be able to support the creation of a high-tech industrial cluster at the Incheon Free Economic Zone (IFEZ).

“This MOU is the beginning of our industry-academia cooperation. The Songdo campus development plan signals that our university has begun a digital new deal innovation project, through which we will develop the campus into a professional institution where we will foster high-tech experts,” the HUFS president said in the ceremony.