Construction of first international student alumni network among Korean universities
Chinese graduates makes YU Alumni Association in Beijing
YU Alumni Power, from Vietnam to China
[May 21, 2012]
Foundering members of the YU China Alumni Association pose for a photo in downtown Beijing.
"Right after my wedding yesterday, I drove 12 hours to get to Beijing. Of course I had to come since the president and teachers from my university are visiting. I thank them for being so welcoming to my wife as well."
Huzewei (30) is an instructor at a technical college in downtown Harbin, Heilongjiang Province in China. He graduated from YU in February 2009 and right after his wedding, he and his wife rushed to arrive at the founding ceremony of the 'YU China Alumni Association'.
Lee, Hyo-soo, president of YU, gives a congratulatory address at the YU China Alumni Association's founding ceremony.
For the first time for a Korean university, YU (president Lee, Hyo-soo) founded an alumni association in Beijing, the heart of China. The alumni power of YU has spread from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam in December of last year to Beijing, China.
At 11 a.m. last Sunday (May 20), the founding ceremony of the 'YU China Alumni Association' was held at a restaurant in downtown Beijin. About 40 Chinese graduates who are working hard in their home countries after receiving a diploma at YU attended this ceremony. The age group ranged from those in their 20s who just graduated from undergraduate studies last year to those in their 50s who received PhDs in the late 1990s. However, they share a common trait that they are or will soon take important positions in various sectors of China such as public officials of provincial governments such as the Jiangsu Province Economic Development Bureau, a professor at the pharmaceutical department of the Tianjin College of Medical Sciences, professor of psychology at Yianbian University, as well as employees of large Korean conglomerates that extended out to China such as the HR manage for Samsung Group's China office, as well as for Hyuna Motors, SK, STX, E-mart, and Taepyeongyang, and persons in finance such as the Korea Exchange Bank Beijing branch and the Bank of Tianjin.
In addition, despite it being a day of rest for most, they all shared a common trait that they had much passion and esteem for their school in that they invested 3~4 hours or even up to over 10 hours from all over China including Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Tsingtao, Yanji, Harbin, Dalian, Suzhou, Xinxiang, Liaoxiang, Nanchang and Szechuan.
Jiayuxian (26), who graduated from the YU Department of International Commerce in February of last year and currently works for the Korea Exchange Bank, Tianjin branch, stated, "I was excited at the thought of meeting YU alumni for the entire four hours on the high speed train. Today will be remembered even more than my wedding."
Professor Chuixun (53, left on photo) of Nankai University was appointed as the first president of the alumni association. Professor Chu, who was the first Chinese international student to graduate from YU, enrolled in the YU Graduate School PhD program in August 1992 and received his PhD in economics in February 1999, just before the beginning of diplomacy between Korea and China. Since February of the same year for over ten years, he worked as a professor at Nankai University and has become one of the top scholars in the labor-management economics sector. After receiving the China Alumni Association flag from Lee, Hyo-soo, president of YU, who was also his counseling professor during his PhD program, Professor Chu made a statement saying, "Let us not forget our role as a bridge between Korea and China, and our pride as YU alumni."
A total of 10 alumni including Professor Shuminglu (40), who earned his master's and PhD at the YU College of Pharmacology and is currently lecturing at the Henan University of Science and Technology, were appointed as regional directors to lead the alumni association in different parts of China.
Lee, Hyo-soo, president of YU, who was present to congratulate the founding of the alumni association, brought a muffler with a YU logo from Korea and placed them on each of the founding members. He stated, "There are currently 960 Chinese students studying at our university. Once they join the China alumni association in the future, it will become a vast alumni organization with over a thousand members." He also added, "Alumni associations were made in Vietnam, China and will soon be established in Indonesia. I hope that the YU alumni associations in each country will act as a hub for constructing a global alumni network and develop a strong alumni power."
Meanwhile, YU currently has exchange programs with 49 universities of China including Tsinghua University, Fudan University, Nanjing University, Nankai University, Huazhong University of Science Technology, and Xi'an Jiaotong University. Furthermore, it participated in the '2012 Study in Korea Exhibition' held in Beijing from the 17th to the 19th to take the initiative to attract Chinese students and engage in exchange with China. In result, over 1,000 Chinese students have graduated from YU and about 960 Chinese students are enrolled in undergraduate and graduate school courses as of the first semester of 2012.
