Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU)

BACKGROUND

Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU) traces its origins to the historic Sungkyunkwan institution founded in 1398. As one of the leading universities for research and education in Asia, SKKU is renowned for its historical significance and modern excellence. Today, SKKU is a private comprehensive research university with close ties to high-end industry R&D (Samsung, Hyundai) as well as government agencies. SKKU has spearheaded the development of higher education in South Korea and pioneered global management through its innovative research and strategic industry-university cooperation.

COLLABORATIVE ENGAGEMENTS WITH PENN STATE

The relationship with Penn State dates to 2012 when a general Letter of Intent was first signed. This was followed by a general Memorandum of Understanding in 2015, formalizing the relationship as one of the GEN (Global Engagement Network) partnerships. The MOU was renewed for another five years in 2020. Since 2017, several activity-specific agreements with SKKU have enabled student exchange programs. Currently, two MOAs are active: a university-wide Education Abroad student exchange and a collaborative graduate program with the College of the Liberal Arts.

SKKU is Penn State’s top partner in South Korea, with both institutions maintaining multidimensional collaborations in research, student mobility and staff exchange. The research partnership spans multidisciplinary areas in the liberal arts and STEM fields. Over the past decade, 30 Penn State students have studied at SKKU and 37 SKKU students have studied at Penn State. dditionally, our vibrant staff exchange program has featured 26 staff visits (13 from Penn State and 13 from SKKU) as of Spring 2025. In 2022-23, Youngjae Cho, the 8th SKKU exchange staff member to Penn State, and Taku Yoshita, a staff member from Nagoya University in Japan and a scholar of LEAP (Long-term Education Administrators Program) supported by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) in Japan, shared their thoughts and observations during their visit. Meanwhile, Chisato Tada and Wendy Moynihan, Penn State exchange staff members reflected on their journey to SKKU.