Ewha and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) signed a mutual business cooperation agreement on July 20. Goals are further development of the female volunteer workforce and more effective performance in granting aid for projects in developing nations.
Due to Ewha's competitive advantage in the area of developing women volunteer workers, it was chosen as the first private university in Korea to sign a mutual agreement with KOICA. Now the school will be able to provide students with more opportunities to become internationally well-rounded regional experts. Through the agreement, Ewha is planning to form an independent Ewha-centric team among the volunteer teams dispatched by KOICA, which will carry out a new type of training program.
"Student volunteers dispatched to various developing countries will be fostered as regional experts after a year of grassroot development activities. They will have better understanding of how actual strategic development programs work and their experience of sharing knowledge and skills through field activities will lead to advanced application in academics and development practices," states Lee Nam-soon, the Manager of the KOICA Office Volunteer Program Team.
KOICA aims to be of actual help to people in rural areas in developing countries. It conducts technical training programs, dispatches experts and volunteers, provides equipment, and executes development studies. Since KOICA selects volunteers who can perform the activities above with ease, priority will be given to students with experience or who can prove their competitiveness in their specialized areas. Lee adds, "This means that there are more chances of seniors being selected as volunteers."
As a government-sponsored agency under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, KOICA promotes international cooperation by contributing to economic and social development in developing countries.