KDU running camp to create global network
Kang Min-seo, 20, a student at Kyungdong University’s (KDU) Nursing College, is participating in “International Students to KDU Global Networking Camp 2019,” a global networking camp where international students and KDU students live and study together for a month.The camp seeks to strengthen students’ competence in global environments and educate international students on Korean culture and language. The camp is open from July 1 to 31 at KDU’s Global Campus in Goseong County, Gangwon, and comprises 111 college students from 12 countries, including the United States, Britain, Italy and the Netherlands, and 100 students from KDU.
Students attending a global networking camp hosted by Kyungdong University (KDU) enjoy a day at Gyeongbok Palace in central Seoul earlier this month. The camp runs from July 1 to 31, when 111 international students and 100 KDU students live and study together at KDU’s Global Campus in Goseong County, Gangwon. [KYUNGDONG UNIVERSITY]
Students who participate in the camp are divided into three groups according to their English speaking skills. Groups are comprised of a mix of Korean and international students who debate in English on a subject under the supervision of a foreign instructor.
“We plan to increase the number of our around 530 international and exchange students and expand the amount of countries from which these students come from,” said Yu Ho-myung, the head of the international cooperation team at KDU. “This is in order to improve our international recognition for global education.”
KDU’s global networking camp was held for the first time this year to help graduates from the university land jobs overseas.
Around 30 KDU students are already getting a taste of what it’s like to live abroad and work with cutting-edge technology at universities in the United States this summer. KDU was also recently selected by the Korean government to manage a K-Move School, an employment training project for people who want to work overseas, which is funded by the Human Resources Development Service of Korea.
Thanks to KDU’s involvement in these projects and the expansion to three campuses, the majority of KDU’s students have been able to successfully land jobs after graduating. KDU has a medical campus in Wonju, Gangwon, that trains future nurses and medical workers; a Metropol Campus in Yangju, Gyeonggi, that fosters future civil servants and teachers; and a Global Campus in Goseong County, Gangwon, that focuses on tourism and trains students to work in a global environment.
KDU also offers several employment support programs for students, such as counselling centers and education centers for professors which are focused on education and job trends. The school is working with some 800 companies to offer work experience and guarantee around 600 jobs for students each year.
“I plan to support students who go overseas,” said Chun Sung-young, president of KDU. “We will focus on improving [students’] global competence through education.”
According to Higher Education in Korea, a state-run website that offers information on universities, 78.8 percent of KDU graduates landed jobs from 2017 to December 2018, which put them in eighth place among 194 four-year public and private universities in Korea.
KDU ranks first in graduate students’ employment rate when ranking schools in the Seoul metropolitan area with more than 1,000 students, including Seoul National University, Korea National Sport University and Sejong University.
“When a regional university achieves a top-ranking employment rate, it helps the region’s public image and promotes regional development,” said Kwon Mun-ju, team leader of the Education Cooperation Division at the Gyeonggi Provincial Office. “This especially helps the region’s companies that have ties to universities.”
BY JEON ICK-JIN, JUNG MYUNG-SUK [jung.myungsuk@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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