President Sul and five delegates from Hanbat National University (HNU) in Korea visited MSU last week to discuss possible study abroad opportunities and collaborative faculty research.

MSU is famous for its excellent programs, said Dong-Ho Sul, the 5th president of HNU. Strong programs in engineering and business sparked interest in working with MSU, but representatives were especially interested in learning about study abroad programs and international internships.

HNU representatives, including deans of the College of Engineering and College of Business and Economics, participated in various meetings at MSU during their visit, which was sponsored by the Visiting International Professional Program (VIPP).

We are extremely pleased that President Sul and delegates of Hanbat National University chose MSU as a potential partner for student exchange and collaborative faculty research, said Michael Miller, director of VIPP. President Sul has excellent ideas for partnership and we are excited to see what the future brings for MSU and HNU working together, he said.

Included in the visit was a meeting with the dean of MSUs College of Engineering, Satish Udpa, and acting associate dean for global initiatives of the College of Business, Tomas Hult.

HNU is a university that has a longstanding connection with industry, and we have a particular interest in this, Udpa said. This could be a match made in heaven. Located on the HNU campus is a research facility for Samsung Co., which offers students a firsthand look at engineering research and industry.

An opportunity for students to work at the Samsung facility would give them a unique perspective, said Udpa, especially since East Lansing does not have examples of large functioning industry.

Delegates from HNU also discussed possible student exchange programs within the MSU College of Business, representatives of which expressed interest in signing a student exchange agreement with HNU within the next year.

Were always seeking new places to visit and to incorporate into our programs, said Hult. The HNU team plans to discuss potential partnerships with MSU as soon as they return to Korea, in hopes that university-level agreements can be signed, and programs can take off by next year.

President Suls ideas of collaborative research and student exchange programs with MSU are demonstrative of universities responding to the demand to promote global awareness. The most important result of this partnership would be increasing collaboration to increase students ability to compete in their field in the future, said President Sul.

And the sooner the better.