European officials touted education at EU universities as attractive alternatives to U.S. colleges at a recent workshop in Seoul, pointing to their low fees and long traditions and high academic quality.

They were speaking at a workshop hosted by Hanguk University of Foreign Studies on Oct. 29 at a hotel in Seoul.

Korea’s Ministry of Education and the National Research Foundation of Korea sponsored the event.

European ambassadors to Korea, international scholars, academic program directors and students joined the seminar, which discussed the opportunities and challenges in policies and programs as well as the direction of future higher-education cooperation.

The head of the European Commission’s international cooperation unit, Harald Hartung, gave a keynote speech on the Erasmus Plus program, which supports education, training and research for European and international students. Launched in January 2014, it provides accredited courses, funding for research projects and scholarships of up to 25,000 euros ($31,000).

“The remarkable success of Korea in the last half a century would not have been possible without its world-class zeal in education,” Hartung said. “The education fever laid the groundwork for Korea’s rapid economic development.”

Hartung said education remains the main vehicle to carry Europe out of the financial gloom it has suffered since the 2008 financial crisis. The Erasmus Plus program is a key element of the “Europe 2020” vision, which aims to boost growth and create jobs. To this end, the EU undertook drastic reforms to make the economy more innovative, sustainable and inclusive. 

Hartung said that the European economy had high rates of unemployment, averaging 10 percent across the continent. With 5 million European youths jobless, the situation is particularly bad for young people who have an overall unemployment rate of 20 percent, reaching 50 percent in some areas. At the same time 2 million available jobs are unfilled, including 900 thousand in the information and communication technology sector.

“Experience and tradition have taught us that education, and particularly higher education, are not confined to the regional, national and global boundaries,” Hartung said, stressing that the changing global economy fueled the demand for innovation-driven education and research.

“We are moving from a supply-driven education to a demand-driven one,” Hartung said. “Nowadays students decide what, when, where and how to learn. In the ‘how to learn’ area, we are revolutionizing our information and communication technologies and online courses.”

Students need to be more selective of their school choices to prepare themselves for the job market after graduation, Hartung added. Universities, he said, need to channel their efforts into areas where they have a competitive advantage.

Despite Koreans’ continuing preference for U.S. universities, tuition fees and living expenses there remain out of average Korean families’ reach. The affordable, high-quality alternatives in Europe could be an attractive option, according to the EU delegation.

The European Commission plans to drastically increase funding for cooperation with other countries and broaden the scope of exchange programs. It strengthened policy collaborations with the Korean government and implemented a wide range of joint-degree programs across universities.

Director of the British Council Korea Martin Fryer said Korean students could benefit from experiencing the diverse cultural mosaic of the European Union.

“Acquiring differing experiences is highly valuable these days because it increases students’ employability in the job market, which continually looks overseas for new businesses,” Fryer said. Educational exchanges will be a foundation for further opportunities in life, he added.

Korean students can immerse in traditional settings stretching back centuries, as well as in modern facilities offering cutting-edge skills in technology and design. Universities from non-English speaking countries recently added programs, presenting unique opportunities for Korean students, Fryer said.

By Joel Lee (joel@heraldcorp.com)