by El-NaafidhaStudent Group for Middle East Studies

Presented by CHO In-wan

Challenges in Korea-Middle East Academic Exchange

for the Youth

Agenda Setting: Youth Unemployment

Common concern of the next generation: RISING YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT RATE (The youth is anyone between age 15 and 25)

The ILO’s World of Work Report 2014:

the world

the middle east

north africa

GCC south korea

0

20

40

unemployment

Agenda Setting: Youth Unemployment

Korea has relatively low youth unemployment rate BUT, the 15-25 year old age bracket does not cap-

ture a majority of job-hunters in Korea Delayed age of entering job markets, due to:

Long leave of absence for resume building Education inflation (graduate school as safe

haven to prepare for job interviews/exams)

How do we save academia while ensuring job op-portunities for students? Role of academic cooperation between Korea and the

Middle East

Methodology

Student Surveys 43 students who have not been to the Mid-

dle East 12 students who have been to the Middle

East Sampled from the Hankuk University of For-

eign Studies, Yonsei University, Sungkyunkwan University, and KDI School of Public Policy and Management (KDIS)

Interviews with the program directors or man-agers at: Hankuk University of Foreign Studies,

Myungji University, and KDIS

Problem 1:

① Lack of Information Scale of 1-5 on the awareness of university-affil-

iated exchange programs (Student Surveys) - Scale of 1-2: 37% - Scale of 3: 42%

Causes (interviews):Absence of information sessions on exchange

programs for the Middle EastLack of pre-departure orientations (not all)Unavailability of one-on-one consultation or

assistance during the application process and pre-departure preparations

Problem 1:

② Lack of Student Support and Manage-ment

Student survey results:

45.20%

14.30%

38.10%

2.40%

Desirable Channels of Study Abroad in the

Middle EastSchool-affili-ated programsPrivate institu-tionsGovernment programsPersonal connections

8.00% 16.70%

75.00%

Actual Channels Utilized by Students

School-affil-iated pro-gramsPrivate insti-tutionsGovernment programsPersonal connections

Problem 1:

② Lack of Student Support and Management Causes (Interviews):

Absence of one-on-one exchange of students with the partnered universities in the Middle East

Some university-affiliated programs require students to individually select and apply to the partnered universities in the Middle East without prior assistance or consultation

Partnered Middle Eastern universities’ slow administrative procedures and lacking inter-national student management system

Problem 1: Good Practice:

Regular evaluations Extensive support for credit transfers and course selections Internship program to the Middle East with credit benefits

Areas of Improvement:1) Improve the quality of student support and management

during pre-, mid-, and post-exchange periods2) Diversify employment, internship or volunteer opportuni-

ties and link up with academic exchange programs

39%

12%

39%

9%

Policy Recommendations for Korean Universities

Improving Student Support and Management

Increasing Intro Classes on Middle Eastern Issues and Arabic

Adopting E-education

Linking up employment opportunities with exchange programs

Expanding financial support for student-led activities

Problem 1: Case-study of CAMPUS Asia

CAMPUS Asia (Collective Action for Mobility Pro-gram of Univer-sity Students in Asia) 3rd Trilateral

Summit among Korea, China, and Japan in 2010: A new initiative of “Vision 2020”

4th Trilateral Summit in 2011

• The necessity for regional cooperation in Asia

• The future leaders of Asia with understand-ing of Asian value

Nurturing fu-ture leader of

East Asia

• Strengthening the competitiveness of uni-versities among 3 countries through vari-ous forms of exchange programs.

• Building the educational cooperation sys-tem among 3 countries.

Building the Asia Educa-

tional cooper-ation

• Suitable conditions(Asia’s leading coun-tries, adjacency) for student mobility.

• Various exchange program(joint/Dual de-gree program)

Taking the ini-tiative in

China, Japan and Korea

Establish an Asian Academic Commu-nity

Problem 1: Case-study of CAMPUS Asia

CAMPUS Asia (Collective Action for Mobility Pro-gram of University Students in Asia) Structure:

10 consortiums of universities in China, Japan and Korea

1 year (home university) + 1 year (abroad for the 2nd degree) + 6 months (abroad for non-degree)

Or 1 year (home university) + 1 year (abroad for the 2nd degree) + 1 year (abroad for the 3rd degree)

Benefits: Credit transfers Tuition benefits Joint degrees or joint masters

Problem 1: Case-study of CAMPUS Asia Challenges

Imbalance in financial commitment by three countries Difference in laws and regulations on higher educa-

tion Dissimilar student body exchanged Lack of post-departure care Vulnerability to fluctuating diplomatic relations

among three countries Lessons Learned (Student Management)

Managed by full-time staff members One-to-one consultation to any students Information sessions and pre-departure orientations Cross-recommendations to affiliated universities

Problem 2: Passive role of the Korean media in re-

porting Middle Eastern issues Student Survey Results

29.70%

31.40%

16.10%

3.40%

16.10%

1.70% 1.70%

Source of News (Non-ex-perience Students)

School

Personal Connections

Government

NGOs/IGOs

Media

Arab friends in Korea

Others

14%

18%

23%

9%

9%

27%

Source of News (Expe-rience Student)

Local media in Arabic

Local media in English

International media (BBC, NYT, etc.)

Korean media

School

Arab friends

Problem 2: Causes:

Lack of journalists and correspondents stationed in the Middle East Only few media companies dispatch one or two corre-

spondents to Cairo and Dubai Other media companies dispatch correspondents only to

Washington, Beijing, and Tokyo Lack of regional expertise and Arabic skills

KINDS of the Korea Press Foundation: A majority of articles written from July 8 to Sep. 15,

2014 on Israel-Palestine conflicts were directly quoted from the Western media

Media Inside of KBS70% of articles written during July 7-25 on the Israel-

Palestine conflicts were quoted from the Western media

Problem 2: Areas of Improvement:

Training young translators and interpreters who have the full potential to pursue journal-ism in the future

Signing bilateral MOUs by think tanks and research institutes in Korea and the Middle East to exchange young professionals

Ensuring more balanced reporting by the Ko-rean media

Dispatching more correspondents to the Middle East

Conclusion:

Role of universities in Korea and the Middle East

Role of Korean and Middle Eastern govern-ments

Role of Korean student groups

In particular, the role of El-Naafidha in: Raising awareness of Middle Eastern issues Attracting more young people to join our con-

certed efforts in improving academic coopera-tion between Korea and the Middle East

Contributors from El-Naafidha

النافذة

Cho In Wan

Kim Jeon Yeon

Jeong Hye Yoon

Choi Hyeong Jun

Kim So Yeon