Power of SUNY

SUNY Announces New Partnership with South Korea

SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher in July 2011 announced that the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology in South Korea had approved the establishment of SUNY Korea, a partnership in Songdo, South Korea, that will be operated by SUNY Korea, LLC.

SUNY Korea, LLC is funded by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, the Incheon Free Economic Zone, and the Metropolitan City of Incheon and will offer graduate degrees – with a strong focus on research – in Computer Science, Information Systems, and Technology Systems Management. Officials expect academic programs to begin in March 2012 with a target enrollment of 200 students in the first year. Pending Middle States Accreditation and facility readiness, enrollment applications to SUNY Korea will be available this fall.

Faculty in Songdo will comprise a combination of faculty that reside in Korea as well as Stony Brook University faculty, funded by South Korea. Presently, seven Stony Brook faculty members – three in the Department of Technology and Society and four in the Department of Computer Science – have expressed interest in teaching assignments in Songdo.

In addition, the SUNY Korea partnership has been awarded funding under a Ministry of Knowledge Economy grant entitled “Fostering Premium IT Professionals.” The total grant is for approximately $50 million for 10 years, and SUNY Korea will work with the Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), a top-notch engineering university in Hyoja, for a 20 percent allocation of the grant.