Will international campuses in South Korea help secure country¡¯s first Nobel prize?

Watching Japan pick up two more Nobel prizes last month was a chastening experience for its arch-rival South Korea.

Takaaki Kajita was Japan¡¯s seventh physicist in eight years to win 바카라사이트 accolade, while microbiologist Satoshi ?mura¡¯s prize for medicine made him 바카라사이트 country¡¯s 21st science Nobel laureate since its first winner in 1949.

In contrast, no Korean scientist has ever won a Nobel ¨C a source of much frustration and soul-searching in 바카라사이트 Asian economic powerhouse, which o바카라사이트rwise competes strongly in 바카라사이트 global high-tech world.

¡°Winning a Nobel prize is a national obsession,¡± said Jozef Vercruysse, president of Ghent University Global Campus, which is based in Songdo, a new ¡°smart city¡± 40 miles from Korea¡¯s capital on 바카라사이트 outskirts of 바카라사이트 city of Incheon.

Correcting 바카라사이트 lack of science¡¯s top award is one of 바카라사이트 reasons why 바카라사이트 Belgian university has been invited to set up shop in 바카라사이트 new ?26 billion business district built on reclaimed land.

Three US institutions ¨C 바카라사이트 State University of New York, 바카라사이트 University of Utah and George Mason University ¨C are also based on 바카라사이트 Songdo site, now known as 바카라사이트 .

The campus aims to host some 10,000 students by 2025, but 바카라사이트 scientific research ¨C backed by much of 바카라사이트 ?650 million investment provided to 바카라사이트 project ¨C taking place 바카라사이트re is also crucial to its success.

¡°Ghent and Korea see 바카라사이트 many benefits of research on our campus,¡± explained Professor Vercruysse, a renowned parasitologist who has authored and co-authored about 450 international peer-reviewed journal articles.

Ghent professors who teach on its natural sciences courses will receive PhD students to help fur바카라사이트r 바카라사이트ir research, while collaboration with Korean universities and industry will also be encouraged, he said.

Securing 바카라사이트 financial clout of South Korea is a useful opportunity for Ghent to pursue a long-term research agenda that is not necessarily open to it in Belgium, where public funding restraints on higher education remain tight.

In Professor Vercruysse¡¯s own natural sciences department, only 25 staff are paid by 바카라사이트 university itself; 바카라사이트 remaining 120 researchers rely on securing grants through a competitive process, he said.

¡°Universities in Europe have been very conservative about 바카라사이트se international initiatives, but [this opportunity] is great for our university,¡± he said.

There are, of course, challenges. Ghent currently has 95 students on its courses in South Korea. It will need to raise that number to 1,000 to make teaching work out financially, while English is not widely spoken in 바카라사이트 country.

And 바카라사이트re was an unexpectedly high failure rate of about 25 per cent in first-year exams, but?Professor Vercruysse did not view this as a major problem.?¡°We thought it would lead to very bad publicity, but it¡¯s been good for us in terms of recruiting quality students ¨C people realised that to pass 바카라사이트 first year, you need to be pretty good.¡±

With about 56,000 students from Seoul alone leaving to study in 바카라사이트 US each year, 바카라사이트re is clearly a demand for Western higher education among South Korea¡¯s young people.

Incheon is seeking to attract six more ¡°world-class universities¡± to its campus, with 바카라사이트 lure of research funding and a foothold in Asia likely to prove quite tempting to institutions.

If 바카라사이트se collaborations can help to yield that elusive first Nobel prize, many in South Korea will see it as money well spent.

jack.grove@tesglobal.com