The International Campus as Prototype for International Collaboration: South Korea’s Songdo Global Campus

Authors

  • Anne Schiller George Mason University
  • Minkyung Park George Mason University

Keywords:

communicative competence, intercultural competence, social perception in intercultural communication

Abstract

Institutional leaders drawn to the idea of opening new campuses overseas are often hindered by expense and concerns including that faculty there will be unable to remain engaged in research. This article focuses on how one international development project, the establishment of Incheon Global Campus (IGC) in Incheon, South Korea, has been based upon a novel partnership model with potential to reduce expenses incurred by any single higher education institution and promote research. The objective of the Incheon Global Campus project is the creation of a dynamic, multi-institutional, truly international campus. In this consortium model, an alliance of foreign institutions cooperates in various dimensions of academic, research, and extracurricular activity on a shared campus site. Participants leverage and combine respective strengths, experiences and expertise, among themselves and with a local foundation that manages campus operations. The IGC case suggests that a consortia approach to the operation of overseas campuses may better the odds for the mutual success of foreign universities and local managers, as well as enhance an overall international development initiative in important ways.

Author Biographies

Anne Schiller, George Mason University

Anne Schiller is Vice President for Global Strategies and Professor of Anthropology at George Mason University.  She earned her B.A. in Anthropology at the University of Virginia and her M.A. and Ph.D. in Anthropology at Cornell University.  Her research among indigenous peoples in the rainforests of Indonesian Borneo has been supported by fellowships and grants from the Fulbright Foundation, the Wenner-Gren Foundation, the National Geographic Society, and others.  Her current  studies concern identity and social change in Florence, Italy.  She has authored books and numerous scholarly articles and chapters based on her findings.  Before coming to Mason Dr. Schiller served as Director of International Programs and Director of the Anthropology Graduate Program in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at North Carolina State University.

Minkyung Park, George Mason University

Dr. Min Park is Executive Director of Korea Campus Operations in the Office of Global and International Strategies at George Mason University, where she coordinates university-wide planning for Mason’s international campus in Songdo, South Korea. An Associate Professor of Tourism and Events Management at the College of Education and Human Development (CEHD), Dr. Park’s research specializes in the social impact of tourism and visitor management in tourism and recreation settings. Partnering with various agencies nationally and internationally, she is involved with diverse research projects with various national and international partners and has produced over 60 publications in a combination of journal articles, book chapters, professional presentations and conference proceedings, and technical reports. Dr. Park’s other activities include advancing dual degree relationships with Korean partner institutions and identifying new educational and research opportunities for Mason faculty in Korea.

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Published

2014-04-30

Issue

Section

Volume 4