Cha Bong-jun, right, director of the Institute of Korean Studies at Soongsil University, poses with Azerbaijan University of Languages Rector Kamal Abdulla during a signing ceremony for academic cooperation in Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 3. Courtesy of Soongsil University
Soongsil University said it signed a memorandum of understanding with Azerbaijan University of Languages to expand academic cooperation and promote Korean studies.
The agreement was signed Feb. 3 in Baku, Azerbaijan, and aims at using the Korea Massive Open Online Course (K-MOOC) in traditional Korean arts and culture and broadening scholarly exchanges in Korean studies, the institute said.
Provided by Korea’s National Institute for Lifelong Education, the K-MOOC is an online education platform featuring high-quality university-level courses, allowing people anywhere in the world to learn, with options for certificates of completion. The platform offers thousands of courses across various disciplines, ranging from humanities and science to technology and arts.
Under the agreement, the two sides agreed to jointly use K-MOOC lecture content, co-host international academic conferences and seminars related to Korean studies, jointly operate programs at the Korean Studies Center at Azerbaijan University of Languages and pursue other mutually agreed academic initiatives.
The signing ceremony was attended by Kamal Abdulla, rector of Azerbaijan University of Languages, and Cha Bong-jun, director of Soongsil University’s Institute of Korean Studies, along with other officials from both institutions.
“The partnership will help position the university’s Korean Studies Center as a hub for Korean language education and Korean studies research in Azerbaijan,” Abdulla said.
Cha also said the cooperation is meaningful in advancing the shared goal of promoting and expanding Korean studies research.
“This agreement will help strengthen the framework for expanding educational content in traditional Korean arts and culture overseas,” he said.
The Institute of Korean Studies at Soongsil University is carrying out the K-Academic Expansion Research Project through 2028 and is developing and operating 10 K-MOOC courses related to traditional Korean arts, the university said.
Source: Korea Times News
