Ajou's Graduate School of International Studies invites 20 foreign alumni to celebrate its 20th anniversary

2015-11-03

Ajou University's Graduate School of International Studies, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, held an event involving invited foreign alumni. The week-long event began with an opening ceremony at 10 a.m. on November 2nd. 20 foreign alumni from 14 countries have been invited, and they will participate in lectures, including the Global HR Forum hosted by the Korea Economic Daily, and tours, etc. through November 7th.

Ajou's Graduate School of International Studies was established in March 1996 by Daewoo Group and the University. Daewoo Group expected the School to teach Korean language, technology, and business administration to technicians and business managers from countries like Romania, Poland, and Uzbekistan, and the University pursued globalization. The School currently admits students regardless of their nationalities and has 183 students from 39 countries, including Koreans, as of this semester. There are four departments in the School – the Department of International Business, the Department of International Trade, the Department of International Development and Cooperation, and the Department of NGO Studies. 

Among the invitees were five graduates who attended the School on the Daewoo Group scholarship, nine who were on the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) scholarship, and one who was on the Global Korea Scholarship provided by the National Institute for International Education. All the alumni appeared happy to visit their alma mater.

Rosita D Jegova from Bulgaria (class of 1999, works for VISA International) said, "As a woman, I am actively working at a major position in my company at 57. It is thanks to the MBA degree that I obtained from Ajou's Graduate School of International Studies. I am so excited to be back here after 18 years." Zhu Chunnan from China (class of 2006, Deputy Dean of the School of Business at Northeast Normal University) said, "The experiences of studying in Korea helped me a lot in terms of research." Gyawali Rajeshwor from Nepal (class of 2007, works at Nepal's Prime Minister's Office) stated, "I was able to understand the big picture of the global economy and trade while studying international trade, which helped me to take my current position. So, I want to thank Ajou and KOICA."

Dean Jay Ick Lim of the Graduate School of International Studies said in the opening ceremony, "Ajou's Graduate School of International Studies has 615 alumni in 69 countries. The network among them will serve as a very important asset not just for themselves, but for the University."