A LEADING Scots university is set to establish its first international campus in South Korea.
Representatives from the University of Aberdeen attended a ceremony held in the city of Changwon to put pen to paper on an agreement for a new campus to open next year.
The site, based in the south of the country in the Hadong district, will specialise in offshore-related courses, such as Oil and Gas Topside Engineering, Subsea Engineering, Petroleum Engineering and Energy Management.
It will provide unique new research facilities in engineering, opening up exciting new opportunities in research and teaching, and enhancing links with key universities in Korea and beyond.
The University will become the first UK Institution to have a campus in the country, providing Aberdeen students with the opportunity to develop their international experience and build links with students from the East Asia region.
The establishment will receive funding from the Korean Ministry of Trade and Industry, and its partners include the Gyeongsangnamdo Prefecture, Gwangyang Bay Free Economic Zone Authority, and Hadong County.
The agreement will secure establishment funding from the Korean Ministry of Trade and Industry, paving the way for the campus to open in September 2016.
The campus – based in the south of the country in the Hadong District, in the Gwangyang Free Economic Zone – will specialise in offering courses in offshore-related disciplines, including MSc courses in Oil and Gas Topside Engineering, Subsea Engineering, Petroleum Engineering, and an MBA in Energy Management.
Vice-Principal Seth Kunin said: “This agreement is a significant milestone in the long history of the University of Aberdeen, and we are all excited by the prospect of establishing our first overseas campus in South Korea.
“As part of its economic strategy the South Korean Government is keen to develop its offshore industry, and it is a testament to the academic expertise that exists here that we were chosen as a partner in this project.
“The new campus will export our world-class educational offering to a new market in East Asia, but it will also open up huge opportunities in research thanks to the impressive facilities located there.”
