KDI School of Public Policy and Management and Seoul National University co-hosted the 2016 GLiMPSE consortium seminar between March 2 and 4. The seminar is a biannual event,  where affiliates from each partner school (ESSEC Business School, KDI School of Public Policy and Management, KU Leuven, and Seoul National University Graduate School of International Studies) in Europe and Korea gather together to discuss issues regarding student mobility and other areas for potential cooperation.

The first day of the seminar began with a consortium meeting among the affiliates from each partner school concerning how to further sustain the GLiMPSE network beyond next year when the current arrangement expires. GLiMPSE is a program for cooperation in higher education between the Korean Government and the European Union Commission. Since 2014, the four partner schools have exchanged students, providing them an opportunity to acquire two degrees – one from a Korean partner school and another from a European partner school.

Afterwards, Mr. Oung Byun and Professor Jeongjoon Park delivered presentations on GSIS research projects. The afternoon session started with welcoming remarks from Dean Chong-Sup Kim of SNU GSIS. Later on, a panel consisting of members from partner schools and the Korea Development Institute hosted a symposium on “Governance and Trade”. Professor Christian Koenig from ESSEC moderated the symposium.

First, issues and policies related to FTA were discussed. Professor Bart Kerremans from KU Leuven began the discussion by presenting “Political Economy of FTAs with a focus on the US and the TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement).” Next, Dr. Yeong-Kwan Song from KDI explained “Korea’s FTA policy: History, Market Barriers, Market opening.” Professor Won-Kyu Shin from SNU GSIS continued the discussion by specifying the topic into “Analysis of anti-dumping use in Free Trade Agreement.” In addition, Professor Leen D''haenens from KU Leuven presented “Cultural Diversity Policies in Europe with a Focus on the Role of the Media: Between Integration and Security.”

Upon going on a field trip to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on the second day,  the affiliates visited KDI School in Sejong City on the last day of the consortium meeting. In the morning, they climbed up Milmaru Observatory Tower for a bird’s eye view of Sejong City. Together with the faculty from Europe, students from KU Leuven currently studying at SNU joined the lunch meeting to network with professors and students of KDI School. Four students of KDI School who are expected to study at ESSEC and KU Leuven during the academic year of 2016-2017 also attended the meeting.

After lunch, the two European partners held introduction sessions for the GLiMPSE program and their respective schools. This session was followed by a special lecture by Professor D''haenens on the same topic presented at SNU. The lecture room where the aforementioned sessions were held was full of students and it was easy to detect their interest in the information presented.

Later in the afternoon, KDI School offered a campus tour for the delegation and the official schedule ended with an additional city tour to the National Library and the Sejong City Lake Park, two popular tourist attractions in Sejong. Overall, the tour gave our European partners a better understanding of Sejong City’s as well as KDI School’s development progress.

The next GLiMPSE seminar will take place at KU Leuven in Belgium around October this year.

By Sojeong Lisa Jeong (2015 MDP, Korea)