[Global HR Forum 2011] Education Tour: Sharing Korea’s Experience

Education Tour: Sharing Korea’s Experience

 

 

Attendees at this year’s Global HR Forum enjoyed a day out in town for an ‘Education Tour’ before the official start of the three-day event. The tour is intended to better inform participants of the forum -- prominent scholars from around the world, chief executives of global businesses, human resource executives, presidents of the world’s top universities and high-level officials of governments and international organizations -- about Korea. The tour’s objective is to share Korea’s experience of rising up from the rubbles of the Korean War through the power of education. 

 

 

 

More than half of Global HR Forum 2011 attendees participated in the tour. The tour was divided into two courses. Participants of the first course started off with a visit to the National Museum of Korea and Samsung Electronics’ d’light shop, a mega-showroom for the global brand's latest products. They then visited JYP Entertainment, an entertainment management company that is at the center of the Korean wave. The course aims to follow Korea's progress from its humble beginnings at the end of the Korean War to becoming an industrial giant and its latest transformation into a regional cultural hub. 

 

 

 

Participants in the tour included Michelle Wucker, president of the World Policy Institute; Dr. Brenda Dann-Messier, assistant secretary for vocational and adult education at the U.S. Department of Education; Lars Pallesen, president of the Technical University of Denmark (DTU); Jee-Pung Tan, education advisor for the World Bank; Chihiro Seumatsu, a professor of management at Kyoto University; Eriko Sakurai, president of Dow Corning in Japan and Korea; and Peter Jarvis, a professor at the University of Surrey.

 

 

 

At Samsung’s showroom, the crowd burst into laughter when Ms. Jee-Pung Tan asked if she could apply for Samsung’s ‘Regional Expert Program.’ The program sends workers from various affiliates of the Samsung Group to different countries around world. Those selected get to spend a full year learning the culture and language of their respective country to become ‘experts.’

 

Describing the day’s experience, professor Jarvis said, “I thought I came to share my knowledge at the HR Forum, but I’m actually learning more.” Professor Seumatsu was impressed with Samsung’s investment in human resources. “It is hard to find companies in Japan that selects their workers and sends them to countries in Africa and South America,” she said.

 

 

 

The second course was tailored for the chief policy makers and human resources experts of East Asia and Pacific countries including Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Mongolia and China. They participated in workshops organized by Global HR Forum in conjunction with the World Bank at Korea University. Participants in this course included U Bo Win, director general of the Ministry of Education in Myanmar; Dr. Subandi Sardjoke, director for education and religious affairs in Indonesia; and Dr. Le Trong Hung, deputy director of the Department of Science and Technology in Vietnam. The workshops will become an annual program for human resource representatives around the world starting this year. 

 

 

 

In addition to the tours, Global HR Forum 2011 will provide an opportunity for young students who dream of becoming entrepreneurs to meet with prominent scholars and chief executives of global businesses who are attending the forum. A select group of middle and high school students will be invited to have lunch with the attendees on the forum’s last day, November 3rd. Robert Pickard, president and chief executive of Asia Pacific Burson-Marsteller; Rajendra Sisodia, dubbed one of the “50 leading marketing thinkers” of the world and a professor of marketing at Bentley University; and Pedro Nueno, president of the China Europe International Business School, are some of those scheduled to attend.