The KDIS delegation group, composed of 20 students, stepped toward Europe for ten days (August 21th—30th) in the International Field Research Study. The delegation group visited three institutions, with three objectives in mind: Investigating how each institution was responding to the Financial Crisis, and learning their experience of international development cooperation. The students were encouraged to learn how policy and institutions influence on effective response to international issues.

The ten-day study was to visit eight institutions in four European countries (UK, France, Belgium, and Germany), starting with a visit to the DFID and the Bank of England, where the delegations discussed the UK’s policy both on development and its monetary system. The following schedule included international institutions, such as OECD, UNESCO, the EU commission, and Lloyd’s building, which are called the historic places of finance and political economy. One of the special plans was to visit the Olympic Park in UK where its urban restoration case is famous for changing unwanted public facilities into a new sports area. It was a valuable experience especially for the GMP students who are working in the public sector to find out how urban planning could be practiced in an environment-friendly way. Furthermore, all the visits have motivated students to plan more specific career vision.

One of the general students, Kim Yena(2013 MPP, Korea) who is the student representative, also participated in this program and showed her appreciation, saying "Visiting renowned institutions as a part of IFRS program, especially OECD and UNESCO, has been such a valuable opportunity for me to set my future career goal. Conversations that I had with professionals at the institutions were very helpful to clarify some of the uncertainties I had about the organisation itself as well as the work they do, especially issues related to development. This hands-on experience really helped me to rigidify my career goal, which I was not so confident before the trip. Therefore, I really appreciate it."

This trip is also meaningful in that it promoted the KDI School’s “ICI-ECP (Industrialized Countries Instrument—Education Cooperation Program)” project. The project starts from 2014, and Korean students will be able to study at four institutions (KDI School, GSIS, ESSEC Business school, LEUVEN University) in Korea, France, and Belgium, to gain two master’s degrees with funding support from the EU and the Korean government. The KDI Delegation visited LEUVEN University and attended a lecture about European foreign policy delivered by Professor Stephan Keukeleire. This visit was evaluated as an accelerator for Korea-EU cooperation for a long term.

The leader of the delegation group, Hyung-geun Cho (2013 MDP, Korea), showed his satisfaction with the trip, saying “We are so lucky that having this valuable opportunity that we might not have whole life. I appreciate the KDI School so much for its idea and efforts. I also expect that this program to invite more students and to be extended to another continent such as Africa so that the school can improve its development policy education.”

At first, the students seemed to be put to inconvenience, since the trip was mainly devoted to institutional research, allowing  not enough time for tourism. However, thanks to the understanding of students and their efforts, all the visits were so successful that the agents of the institutions were astonished with the thoughtful questions raised from the students.

The reason for the success of the trip can be found in the great coordination among the students, which enriched the understanding and meaning of the study as well as the trip itself by utilizing the limited time effectively together.   

During and after the IFRS, all the students showed their special appreciation to Professor Jeong Kwon and the school staff, Hyun-ju Kim, who had taken care of schedules and each student with sincere heart and hard working. Thanks to their preparation for all the schedule and consideration of students’ welfare, the first stone has been stepped successfully.

The first IFRS to Europe exposed the students to advanced countries and institutions that are shaping the world. Above all, the KDI delegations have raised the school’s status and enjoyed the opportunity to renew their ideas about international issues, parlaying the experience into better performance in their duties as public officers, extend their networks to Europe, and design their own future.

By Yong In CHOI (2013 MPP, Korea)