Attraction of University
Busan City and the Busan-Jinhae Free Economic Zone (BJFEZ) Authority announced that they signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on March 6 to build a global campus of Lancaster University of the U.K. in the Myeongji International New City.
The latest MOU was signed after Lancaster University submitted a letter of intent (LOI) to the BJFEZ Authority in October 2016 to open up its global campus in the new international town and Busan City and the BJFEZ Authority had continuous negotiations in the last five months.
Lancaster University is one of the top 10 prestigious universities in the U.K. according to The Times and The Guardian. After Busan City government and related governmental bodies, including the Ministry of Education, reach an agreement, the global campus of Lancaster University will be opened up in the second half of 2019. When it is opened, the authority will be able to accelerate the attraction of the K-12 and research institutes affiliated with colleges in the Myeongji global campus town in the future.
In addition, Busan City and the BJFEZ Authority will make every effort to help Lancaster University operate CEO foster programs, including undergraduate and graduate programs for finance and logistics, and expand to research institutes affiliated with colleges considering the features of the region in where advanced industrial complexes are clustered.
In particular, the industrial network, which connects universities, research institutes and businesses in the region, including the southeast ocean industry cluster, will be created, and the Myeongji global campus town will take a central role in education of western Busan by attracting foreign students, such as China and Japan, and major talents to the region.
Jin Yang-hyun, commissioner of the BJFEZ Authority, said, “With the latest MOU, the BJFEZ has proved to have excellent conditions, including investment environment and residential environment. We also expect that the agreement will help western Busan become the hub of logistics business.”