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Lee earns $6,000 grant
July 15, 2004 | |||||
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KOKOMO, Ind.—The Indiana University Exchange Affiliations Program has approved a $6,000 grant, in support of IU Kokomo School of Business’ pursuit of joint research and educational opportunities with a South Korean university. Business Dean Niranjan Pati, Ph.D., said the proposed exchange with the Kyungsung University (KU) in Pusan, Republic of Korea (South Korea), should “advance the recent focus of the School of Business in a more internationalized curriculum and internationally oriented faculty research.” Associate Professor of Accounting BuRyung Brian Lee, Ph.D., developed the grant application, outlining an exchange program with KU’s College of Commerce and Economics. His application proposes faculty exchanges starting in the 2004–05 academic year, student exchanges in the following year, the sharing of research materials and technical information between the two universities, and joint conferences and faculty research projects. Learning about South Korean business practices in person or from KU faculty would “expand the horizons of our students’ management and administrative skills in international business,” Lee wrote in the application. The partnership with KU would also help IU Kokomo business faculty “develop and incorporate international issues in the relevant curricula,” he wrote. Countries in East Asia have become major trading partners with the United States, Lee stated, increasing the need for U.S. entrepreneurs to understand how those nations conduct business. “In the near future, the aggregate size of the economies of China, South Korea and Japan will be comparable to that of the United States,” Lee said. Lee and Pati plan to pay an initial visit to KU within the next year to set groundwork for the exchanges, and to present research papers and sample IU Kokomo curricula to KU students and faculty. Two additional Kokomo faculty members are expected to visit KU in 2005–2006. IU Kokomo faculty and administrators will offer guidance to Kyungsung University to enhance that institution’s business programs and bolster its research outputs, according to Lee. With 12,000 students, KU is one of the major private universities in the southern part of the Korean peninsula. The College of Commerce and Economics is one of KU’s nine undergraduate colleges; Kyungsung also has seven graduate schools, including one focusing on international management. Like many other Korean universities, KU has seen declining enrollments of recent high school graduates and faces tough competition to recruit motivated students, Lee wrote. “Korean students tend to choose academic programs that promise higher employment opportunities upon graduation,” he stated. “KU’s partnership with IU Kokomo’s School of Business will help KU get the image of a ‘destination’ university.” The idea for the exchange developed in 2003, when Dr. Soo-Duk Seo, a Kyungsung University professor of accounting, spent time at IU Kokomo as a visiting scholar. In February 2004, IU Kokomo Chancellor Ruth Person and KU President Dr. Kyung-Moon Park signed an agreement for student and faculty exchanges, which applies to all academic programs at both institutions. For more information, contact the IU Kokomo School of Business at (765) 455-9275. The IU Kokomo School of Nursing has fostered faculty and student exchanges with Margaret Pritchard University in Chonju, Republic of Korea, since 2001. Nursing faculty from IU Kokomo helped the South Korean school upgrade its curricula and receive government approval to offer a four-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree. For more information on that program, contact the School of Nursing at (765) 455-9288.
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