South Korea Graduate Exchange Program

From December 4 to December 7, five BNU MA and PhD Students (Mitchel Chiviru, Elisabetta Baldassini, Corey Willis, Chu Yongqiang, Yinyi) and one BNU professor (Prof. Tian Fangmeng) travelled to Soongsil University in Seoul, South Korea for an Academic Conference on Social Policy.  The Conference, titled “The 2^ndGraduate Conference on Social Policy”, was an opportunity for students and Scholars from both Universities to share their research, ideas and perspectives within the field of Social Policy.

The Conference touched on many topics: Social Risks in Korea; The Convergence of Social Protection Paradigms in Taiwan and The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism; A Study of Factors Affecting the Likelihood of the Poverty Exit and Entry of the Asset-poor middle aged and elderly; Assessment on the Link Between Democracy and a Welfare State, Economic Development, Urbanization and The UHI Phenomenon; Evaluation of Self-Sufficiency Program; Experiences of Stigma And Discrimination among caregivers of Persons with Schizophrenia in China; Influence of Participants Metal Health on Performance of Self-Sufficiency Program; the Relationship of Smoking Cessation and Depression among Chinese Adult Smokers; a Study of Influencing Factors on the Suicidal Tendency Study of The Elderly Living alone with Care Services.

The Conference provided a platform for an invaluable exchange of ideas and perspectives on current practical and theoretical social policy issues facing East Asia, and the broader world. Professors and students competences and comments were creating a challenging, interesting and motivating academic atmosphere.

However, as is often the case, the most thought provoking and enriching conversations occur through intimate conversations with conference participants outside of the conference hall. This fact was already anticipated by the conference organizers, and by providing for sufficient leisure time outside of the conference, this academic exchange brought substance to the conversations inside the conference room. Visiting scholars from BNU had an opportunity to visit modern and historical sites and participate in Korean Culture through dinning on local cuisine and engaging in conversation with Soongsil University Students.

Moving Forward…

Next year we warmly welcome students from Soongsil University to Beijing to join our faculty in continuing this beneficial academic partnership and inter-University friendship. We hope future conferences will build on the success of this conference by emphasizing the importance of this conference as a means to communicate and share knowledge sharing as well as create intercultural friendships. From the perspective of the international students, a vital feature of the conference was the absence of competition. We felt that this contributed to an atmosphere of mutual respect by devaluing standardization and supporting an open environment for information exchange.

We would like to thank all organizers, professors and students from BNU and Soongsil University for their dedication to this conference.