IU Inks Joint JD/MBA Program with Sungkyunkwan University

Leaders from the Indiana University Maurer School of Law and Sungkyunkwan University's Graduate School of Business has announced the creation of a joint J.D./M.B.A. program believed to be the first of its kind between an American law school and an international M.B.A. program.

Candidates in the program earn both degrees in four years, and can pursue opportunities in business and law while studying in both the United States and Asia. Students will be awarded separate degrees from each institution and will be qualified to sit for the bar exam in all 50 U.S. states.

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"Miles from Nowhere" Author Coming to Purdue

Nami Mun, who was born in Seoul, South Korea, will speak this evening (26 February) at Purdue University in West Lafayette.

The talk, which is free and open to the public, begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Krannert Auditorium. The talk is presented by the Purdue Department of English and the Sycamore Review, Purdue's journal of literature, opinion and arts.

Mun's fiction debut, Miles From Nowhere, was published in January. The novel tells the story of Joon, a 13-year-old Korean-American girl who flees her dysfunctional family to live on the streets in New York City.

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AP Bureau Chief from Tokyo Heads to IU

Longtime foreign correspondent Joe Coleman (pictured), who is the bureau chief for the Associated Press in Tokyo, will join the faculty of the Indiana University School of Journalism beginning in spring 2009, reports the IU News Bureau.

Coleman, who speaks five languages, has reported from Asia, Latin America, Africa, Europe and the Middle East, and most recently has been based in Paris and Tokyo.

Coleman will serve as the Roy W. Howard Professional in Residence, which is named for the longtime leader of Scripps Howard and an ardent believer in the importance of international reporting. (Roy W. Howard grew up in Indianapolis, delivering the Indianapolis Star and Indianapolis News as a boy.)

The School of Journalism has a long-established relationship with the Howard family. It oversees the Roy W. Howard Archives and cosponsors the Roy W. Howard National Collegiate Reporting Competition, which takes top student journalists nationwide to Japan and Korea each year.

Coleman, who has a master's degree in international affairs from Columbia University and a bachelor's in English literature from Vassar, began his career by traveling to Bogota, Colombia, in 1989 to cover the drug cartel war against the Colombian government.

IU Strengthens Ties with Universities in China and Korea

An Indiana University delegation to Korea and China has returned home after establishing new partnership agreements with several of the region's premier research universities, strengthening ties with IU alumni and friends, and participating in a major conference on globalization in higher education, among other activities, reports the IU News Bureau.

During the week-long trip, which began on 31 October, IU reached agreements with Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul National University and Peking University , and discussed future partnership opportunities with officials at Yonsei University, with which IU has had an agreement since 1986.

IU President to Lead Delegation to Asia

Indiana University President Michael McRobbie will lead a delegation to South Korea and China later this week, according to Inside INdiana Business.

The group hopes to form new partnerships with several leading research universities during its six day visit in South Korea. Some will continue on to Beijing, where McRobbie will visit Peking University and speak at the Fifth Beijing Forum about IU's International Strategic Plan.

South Korean Firm Purchased

According to Inside INdiana Business, Ener1, Inc. announced today it has agreed to acquire an 83% interest in Enertech International, one of South Korea's leading lithium-ion battery cell producers. The purchase follows the recent announcement of the company's plans to expand the manufacturing capacity of its lithium-ion automotive battery subsidiary, EnerDel, based in Indianapolis.

International Distillers Grains Conference & Trade Show

The International Distillers Grains Conference and Trade Show is set for 19-21 October in the Indianapolis Marriott Downtown.

It's sponsored by the U.S. Grains Council, which develops export markets for U.S. barley, corn, grain sorghum and related products. Founded in 1960, the Council is a private, non-profit corporation with nine international offices and programs in more than 50 countries.

Inside INdiana Business reports that Hoosier growers and the international buyers of their products will meet face-to-face this month, thanks to a series of tours and farm visits organized through regional cooperative Co-Alliance LLP.

The three-day tour event welcomes dozens of grain buyers, company representatives and government officials from Korea, Taiwan and several North African nations, and provides them with a closer look at American agriculture. The group will already be in Indiana to attend the U.S. Grains Council’s International DDG Conference in Indianapolis. (DDG = U.S. corn and distiller’s dried grains)

For a look at a recent U.S. Grains Council Global Update, click here.

Umbrella Series Translated into Korean

Fort Wayne-based LaBov & Beyond Inc.'s Umbrella Series is going global, according to Inside INdiana Business.

Copies of the illustrated business parables, geared at helping companies energize and engage employees and maximize sales potential and brand awareness, are currently being printed and published in South Korea. Seoul-based Kyujang Publishing Co. approached LaBov & Beyond last year about translating the series into Korean and publishing it.

Yonsei University Students Visiting Purdue

Four undergraduate students at South Korea's Yonsei University won their division at the LG Global Challenger competition. Their chosen prize: To visit research facilities at Purdue's Discovery Park and high-tech businesses at the Purdue Research Park.

Senior Kang Min-Seok and juniors Lee Young-Hoon, Lee Jin-Young and Lee Joo-Won are on Purdue's campus today to see how the university's interdisciplinary approach to research is accelerating efforts to move projects from the laboratory to the marketplace.

There's more here.

Asian Festival Scheduled for 10 May

The Asian American Alliance, Inc., and Indy's Garfield Park will host the first-ever Asian Festival on 10 May. From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., you can sample food and buy merchandise from vendors from all over Asia – China, Korea, Japan, Philippines, Vietnam, Burma, Cambodia, Thailand, India and Indonesia – all under one roof in Garfield Park.

Artwork of Asian artists in Indianapolis will also be on display at the Garfield Arts Center. Plus, cultural entertainment and activities will be offered throughout the day. Admission is free.

The festival is held in conjunction with the Asian Pacific-American Heritage Month, the month of May, as designated by the United States Congress.

ISU Inks Pact with South Korean University Today

Indiana State University is signing a memorandum of understanding today with Sungshin Women's University of Seoul, South Korea, according to Inside INdiana Business.

ISU President Lloyd W. Benjamin III (pictured) and Sungshin President Shim Hwa Jin will participate in the signing. The South Korean education official is leading a 35-member delegation to the Terre Haute campus. The memorandum is a one-year agreement to discuss ways the universities can cooperate.

IU's Kelley School of Business Inks Agreement with Sungkyunkwan University

A "very selective program" connecting the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University with Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU) in Seoul, South Korea, offers students a dual degree option.

Students from the global business undergraduate program at SKKU will take 75 credits at SKKU and finish at the Kelley School with 45 credits -- receiving degrees from both universities.

Also, a dual-degree MBA program has been established whereby students spend two semesters at SKKU's Graduate School of Business and then two semesters at Kelley, and receive two degrees.

Purdue Collaborates with Korean Institute

Research teams from Purdue's Discovery Park and the Korean Institute of Science and Technology are collaborating on a $4.5 million project to develop molecular imaging and nanotechnology tools to simultaneously diagnose and treat cancer and chronic and infectious diseases, according to the Purdue News Bureau.

The Korean Institute of Science and Technology, also known as KIST, and Purdue developed a research proposal utilizing the complementary strengths of both institutions' internationally renowned research groups.

In conjunction with this project, Purdue's Discovery Park will hold an international conference on 14 September in the Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship. More than 20 Korean researchers on this project will attend, along with other international scholars in the growing field of molecular imaging and theragnosis. The first event took place in Seoul in September 2006.

Foreign Firms Invest More in Indiana

Inside INdiana Business reports today on two new international connections for Indiana companies.

In the first item, it says that Switzerland-based Leman Cardiovascular subsidiary Hancock Jaffe Laboratories is partnering with Bloomington's Cook Medical to develop products in the field of tissue engineering and processing for minimally invasive cardiovascular products.

The second notes that CTS Automotive Products in Elkhart was awarded a production program by a Korean based vehicle manufacturer for its Seat Belt Tension Sensor (BTS). With production starting in the spring of 2007, the CTS Seat Belt Tension Sensor will be integrated in seat belt assemblies for small SUVs built in Mexico for sale in North America.

Almost 5,000 Foreign Students Attend Purdue

Purdue ranks second among all public institutions in international enrollment, and is third in the nation among all institutions, according to the Institute of International Education.

Of the 4,831 international students enrolled at Purdue in the current academic year, there are 1,021 students from India, followed by China (782), South Korea (680), Taiwan (222) and Indonesia (221).

(information from Purdue University)