Purdue, Seoul National University sign LOI to benefit IE grad students
Purdue University and Seoul National University (SNU), Korea, have signed a letter of intent (LOI) to foster international cooperation in education and research within their respective graduate engineering programs.
Purdue College of Engineering and Seoul National University (SNU) recently signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) to collaborate on education and research, with an initial emphasis on industrial engineering graduate students. Pictured are (L-R): Young-Jun Son, the James J. Solberg Head and Ransburg Professor in Purdue’s School of Industrial Engineering; Arvind Raman, the John A. Edwardson Dean of the College of Engineering; Yoo S. Hong, dean of the College of Engineering and professor of industrial engineering at SNU; and Seokcheon Lee, professor of indusrial engineering at Purdue. Lee spent his sabbatical at SNU in Fall 2023 and fostered communication between the two institutions that led to the LOI.
Yoo S. Hong, dean of the College of Engineering and professor of industrial engineering at SNU, traveled to Purdue on April 11 and joined Arvind Raman, the John A. Edwardson Dean of the College of Engineering and the Robert V. Adams Professor in Mechanical Engineering, for the signing.
At the onset, the agreement will target a joint master’s degree program in industrial engineering and a summer graduate internship program, said Young-Jun Son, the James J. Solberg Head and Ransburg Professor in Purdue’s School of Industrial Engineering, adding that he anticipates expansion to other schools in the college.
Hong (PhD IE ’02) joined SNU 20 years ago and has served as dean for two years. As a Purdue alumnus, his familiarity with Purdue and its engineering curriculum, coupled with the fact that the two universities have an existing partnership through Purdue’s Global Engineering Programs and Partnerships, made the new partnership a natural progression.
“While Purdue students generally possess excellent engineering skills, SNU students are recognized for their strong analytical abilities. By forming teams comprising students from both institutions, we can combine these complementary strengths to produce truly excellent outcomes,” Hong said.
The LOI outlines potential opportunities for a variety of activities, including exchange of faculty and research scholars; exchange of students; collaborative research and discovery, learning and teaching, and engagement; technical assistance; and other mutually agreed-upon educational or research programs.
“SNU Engineering is an exemplar program in South Korea with whom we have had historic links,” Raman said. “With this LOI, we commit to partnering with Dean Hong to revitalize the partnership in the coming years.”
The partnership will address critical areas of the 21st century such as artificial intelligence, supply chain resiliency, human-automation interaction, semiconductors, sustainability and more, Son said.
“The cross-pollination of knowledge and skills from these two leading institutions can provide a well-rounded and enriching educational experience for students on both sides,” Hong said.
On the evening of the LOI signing, Hong received the Outstanding Industrial Engineering Award from Purdue. He recalled that when he chose Purdue for his PhD, he had worked for six years for Daewoo Motor Company (currently GM Korea) and was looking for an IE school with strengths in manufacturing — both academically and practically. Purdue fit the bill with a unique program equipped with comprehensive manufacturing facilities.
As a graduate student, he received a teaching assistantship and was awarded the Magoon Award for Excellence in Teaching two consecutive years.
“Purdue is esteemed for providing a balanced education in theory and practice. I truly appreciated the industrial engineering program because it allowed me to learn a diverse range of fields, including operations research, manufacturing, human factors, artificial intelligence and more. The reason Purdue is an excellent collaborative partner is the Boilermaker spirit, which I believe embodies a determination to make things work.”
Writer: Heather Pflug
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