Please share your experience :)

1.Why study or work abroad?
-Advantages and disadvantages of being abroad
-homesickness
-motivations (reason)
2. What do you think about its culture (food, traditions, values, people)?
-have you experienced cultural differences? (language barriers, lifestyle)?
3. For foreigners, why to come and study/work there?           
How can the experiences, knowledge and skills you acquired abrod be used in your country?
4. What are your future plans?
5.What can you say to motivate people to go abroad too?
-tips for people who plan to go abroad
6.How did your experience/s change or affect how you think and your personality?
7. What is the most difficult thing for you when you have stayed in there?
8. Why did you decide to come to Korea than other countries?
9. Do you think that the period you've stayed in Korea will be usefull in your future?
(If you say yes, Why do you think that? How can be it usefull for you?)
10. Have you ever experienced a racial discrimination?
11. What is the best necessity to be a global talent ?


Please send your answers colorful.case.study@gmail.com  and we promise that we will put them up :)


Lets go global and help each other :)
                                       

Go abroad and have some an amazing experiences!


Thank you to all our interviewees:


Jo Junhwan

Cho Hyunsoo


Kim Yoomin


Lucy Wang


Kim Jungman


Gilhee Lee

The Benefits of an International School Education - a Newsweek Article

The growing number of international schools around the world is allowing parents to choose an alternative kind of education for their children - an education for the real world of global communication, international opportunity and cultural diversity. This is an education which goes far beyond the confines of the classroom and sees in the learning process the chance for some remarkable lessons.

International schools are no newcomers to the educational marketplace - but there are certainly different "types" of international school. Some international schools serve a largely expatriate community and focus on teaching a set national curriculum that provides access to tertiary education back in a particular home country. Other international schools have far more diverse student populations and offer opportunities for young people to graduate into a world-wide educational environment.

However, in recent years there has been a growing awareness amongst some international educators and parents about the need for an education that offers far more than a traditional academic curriculum. This is an approach to international boarding school education which offers a more child-centred and holistic approach to learning. These are schools which see an opportunity to specifically develop cross-cultural understanding, an international outlook and an ability to build quality relationships with people from very different backgrounds and creeds.

One international school, high in the Swiss Alps, has students from 60 different nationalities and 30 different first languages. Through a shared holistic approach to education they find out about each others' cultures and views on the world. By sharing everyday parts of their lives; dining, sleeping, and helping each other tackle the challenges of an exciting outdoor education programme, they learn to develop tolerance. What is more, friendships are formed which transcend traditional barriers and differences. Ordinary day to day situations become opportunities to educate the students beyond their own cultural mind set.

Students are exposed to diverse experiences and are encouraged to achieve their full potential across many different dimensions, academically, physically, spiritually and socially. It goes without saying that they are also encouraged to have a healthy international outlook! One of the great advantages of this approach to education is that, in the very fabric of everyday school life, students are naturally exposed to many different cultures, promoting a broad-minded spirit of multicultural interest and acceptance. The college encourages students to reflect on the divisions which characterise so many of the world’s problems to find values which see a common humanity behind the diversity.

Says Dr Jonathan Long, Headmaster of this Round Square school: "The nature of the problems the world needs to solve today cannot be solved at the level at which they were created. We need to see beyond the fragmented differences of culture, language and religion to a more fundamental reality. One of the great advantages of an international education is that you can create an environment in which young people from different cultures, nationalities and languages are brought together in one place. They have the opportunity to learn that what makes them human is not their cultural identity, language, or religion alone but it is also something essentially spiritual that transcends all of these things. In other words, they have the chance to recognise that there is a common humanity which transcends the differences at which world problems are often experienced today."

"This is where an international and holistic approach to education offers some hope. It gives students the chance to rub shoulders with another human being at a more essential level. For example, in the challenges of outdoor education young people from varied backgrounds discover that they experience the same human feelings of fear apprehension and achievement. An international education is as much about the quality of the relationships that can be formed between human beings as it is about a particular curriculum or set of qualifications. These relationships become the soil in which other things can grow. To be effective and fruitful, the curriculum needs this kind of soil, but just as important as the curriculum is the methodology and the values used to deliver it."

There are other more obvious advantages of an international education too. Students can learn a range of languages and become truly multilingual - many international schools, run bi-lingual programmes, and offer language support for non-native speakers. The students hear these languages being spoken by their friends outside of the classroom, thus adding a degree of reality to the language learning process.

Most international schools enable students to graduate to universities throughout the world - offering an enormous variety of experience. Universities are often impressed to see that a student has benefited from the unique challenges of an international education. Graduates also have lifelong access to their school’s international network of social and business contacts. Their multilingual and international social skills can provide a powerful springboard to becoming influential leaders in a global setting.

Academic rigor is vitally important because academic qualifications are still the passport to accessing a good university and professional career. International qualifications are increasingly popular today and certainly help to promote a global perspective. But in addition to academic rigor, successful people often pay tribute to those elements of a more rounded and holistic international education which exposed them to a wider variety of experiences and learning for life.

The main challenge facing education in the 21st century is to educate young people for the 'real world' of diversity and difference. Whether these differences remain as the fragmented divisions of hatred and intolerance will depend to a large extent on the kind of education young people receive. An international education offers the opportunity to celebrate diversity in a spirit of understanding and tolerance and to develop a positive regard and awareness of other people. This must be one of the most important challenges facing the world today - it is certainly a challenge which international education can face with courage and determination.

http://www.newsweekshowcase.com/education/schools/europe/articles/The-Benefits-of-an-International-School-Education

Asean Nations Put Education Front and Center by Liz Gooch

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA — Across the 10 countries that constitute the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a diverse regional bloc encompassing 600 million people, the higher education landscape varies greatly.

From highly developed Singapore, which has two universities that often place well in international university rankings, to countries like Laos, which only established its national university in 1996, the region is home to an eclectic collection of institutions.

But with higher education recognized as a vital tool to stimulate economic growth in the region, efforts to raise standards and encourage greater collaboration among universities are gaining pace as Asean’s 2015 deadline to establish an integrated economic community draws nearer.

Universities are working on providing more opportunities for student exchanges within the region, credit transfer systems and improving quality assurance mechanisms.

Although there may be some similarities between what Asean is trying to achieve and the European Union’s Bologna Process, which seeks to harmonize the Continent’s higher education system to make European students more competitive globally, commentators say that the great diversity in education systems and economic development across Asia presents different challenges.

Raising standards at higher education institutions across Asean, which includes Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, is considered a key aspect of the effort to train the skilled work force necessary for economic development.

“I think it’s very important that we improve our higher education quality in order to ensure the quality of our graduates,” said Nantana Gajaseni, executive director of the Asean University Network, which includes 26 universities from the 10 countries.

A recent World Bank report found that while higher education participation rates in less prosperous East Asian countries have increased sharply in recent decades, the number of graduates is still too low for labor markets in countries like Cambodia and Vietnam. The report also found that those same countries are neither delivering graduates with the skills nor producing the research that is required to address labor market and innovation needs.

To raise standards, the Asean University Network, or A.U.N., began operating a regional quality-assurance system to assess undergraduate programs at its member universities in 2007. It hopes to open the process to other universities next year and extend it to postgraduate programs in 2013.

Since 2009, national quality-assurance agencies from the various countries have been meeting regularly to learn from each other. Even Myanmar, one of Asia’s poorest countries, has begun establishing its own quality assurance agency, Ms. Nantana said.

Suos Man, vice rector of the Royal University of Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s largest university, said that belonging to the regional network would help keep the institution “on its toes.”

The Royal University “will need to make constant efforts in building its academic, administrative and leadership capacity to live up to its name as a representative higher education institution of Cambodia,” she said.

Mrs. Suos Man said her institution decided to join the network because it wanted to play an active part in the development of Asean higher education and exchange educational experience with top universities in the region.

“From academic endeavors to administration and to leadership, R.U.P.P. can share and learn a great number of practical lessons from other member universities,” she said.

Encouraging students to spend time studying in other Asean countries is another key aim, a challenging task, given that many students still prefer universities in countries like the United States and Britain.

“The attitude is: Look West,” Ms. Nantana said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/31/world/asia/31iht-EDUCLEDE31.html?ref=internationaleducation

First-Time Foreign Students in U.S. Increased by 8% by Rebecca Appel

First-time enrollment of international students at graduate schools in the United States grew 8 percent from 2010 to 2011, according to a study released last week. That is an increase over the 3 percent rise last year and the largest since 2006, when the number jumped 12 percent.

The study, by the Council of Graduate Schools, a Washington-based organization that promotes graduate education and research, said that the increase in first-time enrollment, generally the best predictor of graduate enrollment trends, was due largely to an increase in the number of Chinese students — up 21 percent compared with 2010.

This marks the sixth year in a row that China, which sends the most international graduate students to the United States, has reported double-digit growth. Significant increases were also reported from the Middle East and Turkey, whose first-time enrollment levels jumped 14 percent in 2011. First-time enrollment from India was up 2 percent, the first increase since 2007.

The study, which surveyed 237 colleges and universities, also revealed differences in enrollment levels by area of study and program type. Education and the physical and earth sciences posted the largest increase in numbers of degrees sought, with enrollment levels for each up 12 percent. That continues an upward trend in the physical sciences from last year but was a marked reversal of course for education, which declined 7 percent in 2010. The overall gain in international enrollment this year owes much to doctoral programs, which typically have a higher proportion of international students than master’s programs. First-time international enrollment at doctoral programs was up 8 percent, while master’s programs reported a 5 percent drop in that category, continuing the trend from last year. — REBECCA APPEL

Drop in visiting enrollees hurt Australian economy

The money that international higher education students contribute to the Australian economy dropped significantly in the last year, officials said last week.

The country’s “total export earnings” from higher education — including tuition fees, living costs and travel — fell to 9.4 billion Australian dollars from 10.4 billion dollars, or to $9.7 billion from $10.7 billion, according to figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Education is one of Australia’s largest exports, with many universities dependent on international students’ tuition fees. However, figures from the Australian Department ofImmigration and Citizenship have shown a steep downturn in applications for student visas since 2009, recovering slightly only this year.

A review of the student visa programs released this year noted that a combination of factors had contributed to the decline, including the global financial crisis, the strong Australian dollar and a damaged reputation following a spate of attacks against international students in 2009. There are 208,079 students enrolled in higher education in Australia, according to the government. — JONATHAN J. LI

University official to quit over nepotism allegation

The head of a coalition of Australia’s leading universities will step down from his university post following allegations that a student, whom the local news media described as a family member, “was improperly offered a place” at the university that he directs, according to a statement released last week.

Paul Greenfield, the vice chancellor of the University of Queensland, will resign next July, while his deputy, Michael Keniger, will resign at the end of this year. Mr. Greenfield is also the current chairman of the Group of Eight coalition of Australian universities.

“Professor Greenfield, as vice chancellor, and Professor Keniger, as acting vice chancellor at the time, each accepted, by virtue of their positions, that they had ultimate responsibility and accountability for the irregularity and each offered his resignation,” said a statement by the university. The student’s identity has not been revealed for privacy reasons, the university said. — JONATHAN J. LI 

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/14/education/first-time-foreign-students-in-us-increased-by-8.html?ref=internationaleducation

Opening Opportunities in International Higher Education by Joan Dassin

Access to higher education remains severely restricted throughout the developing world. Even though higher-education enrollments have tripled and even quadrupled in some regions, the gross enrollment ratio for the developing world population ages 20 to 24 is still half or even less than that of comparable participation rates in North America and Europe. From sub-Saharan Africa to South Asia and Latin America, poverty, gender, race, ethnicity, and rural origins all determine unequal access to education.

Those factors also limit participation and success. In Latin America, for example, the completion rate for higher education among indigenous people living in rural areas is half of 1 percent, one-tenth the rate for nonindigenous people. For disadvantaged groups in these societies, opportunities to study internationally are even more limited, since student mobility in general remains a privilege for those who can afford it or for the select few who are granted government or private scholarships.

Governments, higher-education institutions, aid agencies, and private foundations can all play a role in fixing these inequalities. Yet relatively few practical examples exist of how more equitable access and successful participation in higher education can be achieved.

The Ford Foundation International Fellowships Program, better known as IFP, is one such example. Under IFP, more than 4,330 fellows from Russia and 21 developing countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East have received support for master's and doctoral studies in fields ranging from social and environmental science to the arts. The fellowships can be used worldwide so that talented candidates are not excluded because of deficiencies in English—a major impediment to international study.

After a decade of selections, the population of fellows is 50 percent female; more than two-thirds of fellowship recipients come from outside of major urban areas. Religious or ethnic minorities constitute the majority of fellows in many countries. For the first time, a major scholarship program has been open to people with disabilities, many of them passionate advocates for disability rights.

The IFP fellows achieve academic results that show they can perform as well as their more privileged counterparts. Virtually all fellows are accepted to full-time master's, doctoral, or similar postgraduate programs in competitive universities in Britain, continental Europe, the United States, and other regions. Fully 98 percent of more than 3,000 alumni have successfully completed their fellowships, and more than 93 percent have earned advanced degrees. They also remain true to their social-justice commitment. The International Fellowships Program does not contribute to "brain drain." On the contrary, the vast majority of the alumni have returned home, where they utilize their new knowledge for the betterment of the most vulnerable groups in their societies.

Based on its decade-long, global experience, the fellowships program provides some useful lessons for universities seeking to diversify their international-student bodies.

First, there is no "one size fits all" definition of underrepresented groups. Independent, credible professionals with deep knowledge of local conditions must participate in recruitment and selection; it cannot be done from afar. IFP worked with local nonprofit organizations, including research and teaching institutions, educational exchange organizations, and nongovernmental organizations active in health, education, and human rights. All selections were made in the specified countries, and selection panels were composed of independent scholars and representatives of civil-society organizations. These were key factors in recruiting women and in reaching candidates from minority ethnic groups and candidates from remote regions, and also in creating transparent and accountable selection processes.

Second, prior academic achievement is not the sole predictor of future academic success.

The usual criterion for international scholarships—selecting the "best and brightest" on the basis of a candidate's academic record—is insufficient. The program looks for indicators of intellectual and personal achievement in other realms—independent publications, whether candidates have founded organizations, or if they have shown extraordinary motivation and success in overcoming obstacles to further their education. Leadership capacity and social commitment are as important as academic performance. This holistic approach to selecting fellows is critical for identifying academic talent and potential among nontraditional international students.

That applies to university admissions, too. While the debate pitting diversity against academic standards has persisted for decades in the United States, it has focused primarily on domestic undergraduate students. IFP has shown that diversity can be achieved among international students at the graduate level, provided that the university is willing to develop flexible admissions procedures, at least in some cases. For example, standardized test scores may be added to a student's file after the individual has benefited from additional English practice, rather than be required at the outset. Alternatively, a student may be granted a conditional admission with the understanding that a regular admission will follow if he or she achieves a certain level of English proficiency.

We have seen other effective strategies as well. At the University of Texas at Austin, which has hosted more than 60 IFP fellows, the campus's international-student office plays a crucial role in presenting candidates to individual departments, supplying details about the students' backgrounds and the highly competitive fellowship-selection process. At Brandeis, where the sustainable international-development program at the Heller School for Social Policy has hosted more than 150 IFP fellows, it has learned from accommodating a large group how to select fellows who are most likely to succeed in mastering its rigorous academic curriculum.

Third, universities can successfully design specific strategies and policies to help international students from underrepresented groups develop their full intellectual potential. This is especially critical for older students who have been out of academic institutions for some time. While rich in real-world knowledge and experience, those students are unlikely to be familiar with computer-based research techniques and inadequately prepared for academic writing, even in their own languages. In all regions, students from underrepresented groups tend to lack basic quantitative skills that are critical for economics and social-science disciplines. From a practical perspective, they may lack access to updated methodologies and the bibliography they need to prepare a statement of objectives or preliminary research proposal—required for many graduate-school applications.

Taking advantage of the lag time between selection and the start of academic programs, the International Fellowships Program has supported dozens of pre-enrollment training programs in the fellows' home countries. Typically offered by local universities or training institutes, these courses can be tailored to individual needs. One innovative example is a modular course first developed by a Chilean university that offers placement assistance and training in computer skills, academic writing in Spanish, and English for reading comprehension via an online platform for recently selected fellows based in Chile and Peru. The course proved so effective that it is now used to prepare students to apply to local universities in Chile.

Even with such pre-enrollment preparation, about one-third of IFP fellows require additional English and skills training at their host universities. In several instances, universities have developed "bridging programs" for the fellows that have then served other nontraditional students. One of the most successful is based at the East-West Center at the University of Hawaii, which has accepted nearly 170 IFP fellows, mostly from Asia. In addition to courses in English, the program has provided academic counseling for the fellows. This specialized assistance allows the fellows to ease into their full-time academic programs as their skill levels improve.

Equally important, the International Fellowships Program has learned that international students benefit from multiple support systems to help them deal with logistical, cultural, and health issues. This need can be particularly acute for students from traditional societies who also have no financial cushion. The program's local partner organizations; campus-based health and student-welfare services; and the Institute of International Education, the British Council, and Nuffic (Netherlands Organisation for International Cooperation in Higher Education) have all provided monitoring and support services to fellows. The vast majority of fellows are amazingly adaptable and resilient, but it is critical to recognize that their academic success depends on their personal health and welfare.

The main lesson of the International Fellowships Program is that equitable access and successful participation in international higher education are compatible, necessary, and achievable goals.

While advocating for "open door" policies to increase flows of international students to the United States and other destinations, the higher-education community should take a much stronger role in diversifying its international-student bodies and offering more opportunities to students from disadvantaged groups. If these individuals, in turn, are deeply committed to improving conditions in their own countries, higher education will fulfill its potential to create equity, cohesion, and broader participation in all societies.

http://chronicle.com/article/Opening-Opportunities-in/129984/

Male/24/From Austria/Exchange student in Korea

1.Why study or work abroad?

-Advantages and disadvantages of being abroad

Adv.:

* Get a lot of money in this programme

* Get to know many people from all around the world

* Don't need to study as hard as usually and still get a pass and credits

* Widens your horizon, social skills, cultural understanding

* Learning languages

Disadv.:

* Can't be with your friends and family for some time

* Maybe miss some cool stuff back home (events, sports, etc.)

* Can be difficult to acclimatize

* Experience the feeling of being a stranger (Can be interesting too, but it's a basic need of humans to be socially accepted)

-homesickness

Naturally, I miss my girlfriend and my family, also my friends, my sports club, the mountains, etc.. But as I know that it's just a temporary stay, I'm not too homesick. Also, I found many friends and I like the food, the culture, and everything here.

-motivations (reason)

* I want to learn Korean

* I like Korean people

2. What do you think about its culture (food, traditions, values, people)?

As in every culture, there are some good and some not so good things. I don't want to explain what I think is good and bad, because it's pointless. Society must be accepted as it is. It's within the responsibility of individuals in this society to make the best out of it and find a way to combine one's own and the society's values.

- Have you experienced cultural differences? (language barriers, lifestyle)?

I experienced lots and lots of cultural differences in almost all aspects of society I encountered: Table manners, social rank, mutual respect, school life, university life, and so on. I could write pages about the differences.

3. For foreigners, why come and study in Korea? in SCNU?

-motivations (reason)

* I had been to Korea three times before (ex-girlfriend is Korean)

* I want to learn Korean

* I like Korean people

* I chose CBNU (not SCNU) because Seoul is too big for me and because I Chungcheonbuk-do is the only region without connection to the sea - just like Austria.

How can the experiences, knowledge and skills you acquired abrod be used in your country?

I don't know. I can't predict the future, but I believe that everything can be useful somehow.

4. What are your future plans?

I want to become a high school teacher. I also want to found a family.

5. How was your experience?

Good.

6.What can you say to motivate people to go abroad too?

* Studying abroad is a worthy experience.

* The more languages you speak, the more possibilities you have.

* The more friends you have all around the world, the more flexible you are in case you want to travel or in case you just want to get out of your country for whatever reason.

* Your friends at home will love to hear stories from somewhere else. (To be honest, this point is quite weak in our digital age... )

7.How did your experience/s change or affect how you think and your personality?

I think it didn't change me much. A third person's opinion might be useful to answer this question.

8. What is the most difficult thing for you when you have stayed in Korea?

Not to upset professors with critical thoughts. At Kyung Hee University I once experienced an Austrian student who criticized a Korean professor's teaching method directly, and I tell you, the professor went furious: "Who do you think you are? I'm a professor! I'm 51 years old! How old are you? Stand up! Come to my office with me!"

9. Why did you decide to come to Korea than other countries?

Because I knew Korean before I came here and wanted to improve it.

10. Do you think that the period you've stayed in Korea will be usefull in your future?

I don't know. I can't predict the future, but I believe that everything can be useful somehow.

11. Have you ever experienced a racial discrimination?

No.

12. What is the best necessity to be a global talent?

Being able to communicate well.