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January 22, 2013

South Korean students begin studying at ULM

Through a relatively new and popular partnership between the University of Louisiana at Monroe and Hanbat National University in South Korea, eight students from Hanbat National have begun an enriching seven-week, study abroad/internship experience at ULM. 

The students, who are continuing their coursework in business and engineering degree programs administered through Hanbat, were officially welcomed to the university on Tuesday, Jan. 22, in Strauss Hall.

During Tuesday morning's celebration, ULM President Dr. Nick J. Bruno thanked local business partners for offering internships to the students, and he emphasized the importance of helping international students acclimate to ULM and to northeast Louisiana.

"It is important these students (from Hanbat) understand our culture, and it is important we understand theirs. We know that ULM and Monroe have a reputation of hospitality to all of our students, and I ask that you spend a little extra time in welcoming our international students by helping them acclimate to northeast Louisiana,” Bruno said.

Bruno highlighted the university’s recent focus on international recruitment efforts.

“At ULM, we have increased our international students by 35 percent since 2010. That's significant, and it continues to grow—especially in our graduate program.”

Before exiting the podium, Bruno turned to the eight Hanbat students and said, "Hello" in Korean: An Nyung Ha Se Yo.

In an earlier interview, Dr. Dorothy Schween, head of Curriculum, Instruction, & Leadership at ULM, said. “We feel very fortunate to be hosting these students and realize that while they are here to learn from their experiences, the students provide us with the opportunity to learn from them as well."

Dr. Kioh Kim, assistant professor for the College of Education and Human Development and lead liaison and coordinator for ULM and Hanbat National University, expressed his pride in the collaboration between Hanbat and ULM.

“I am honored ULM has made it possible to have students from my home country of Korea to come to the U.S. and gain enriching academic and career experiences. Not only do these students bring new perspectives and ideas to ULM, but when they return home, they are highly sought out by Korean employers.”

For the first four weeks at ULM, students are taking two English as a second language courses, prior to beginning their internships.

These courses have been customized specifically to help prepare them with English communication skills and practices.

For their final three weeks in Monroe, students will visit CenturyLink, Denmon Engineering, AT&T, Architecture Plus, and the City of Monroe, to complete their internships.

In addition to this opportunity for students, Hanbat National University staff members made a recent visit to Monroe to familiarize themselves with U.S. university systems.

ULM Vice Presidents Dr. Stephen Richters, Dr. Eric Pani, Assistant Vice President Ms. Lisa Miller, with Interim Dean of Arts and Sciences Dr. Michael Camille, provided back-to-back presentations on various university systems including evaluation, incentives, hiring, enrollment, and facility management.

This is ULM’s second year to host students from Hanbat National University.

In 2012, 15 Hanbat students attended ULM as part of the Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2011 between ULM and Hanbat National University.

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