Ajou University

Ajou University

Established	1973[1]
Academic staff	1,370
Administrative staff	3,000
Undergraduates	10,148
Postgraduates	4,100
Location	Suwon, South Korea
Website	http://www.ajou.ac.kr/

A student on a bench next to the dormitory cafeteria.

Ajou University, established in 1973, is a major research university in Suwon, South Korea.^[2]

The campus and its hospital are close to Exit 1 of Shinbundang Line's Gwanggyo Jungang (Ajou Univ.) Station, a major subway station of the Seoul Metropolitan Subway.^[3]

Foundation

In 1971, when modernization and industrialization were under way in Korea, Korea and France entered into an agreement for the establishment of Korea-France Technology Junior College in order to exchange technology and culture through education. According to the agreement, Ajou Engineering Junior College, the forerunner of Ajou University, was founded in March 1973 by Yusin Institute established by Park, Chagn-won, the chairman of Yusin Express Tourism Co., Ltd. Starting as Ajou Engineering Junior College, Ajou College recruited 280 students during its first year from four departments, including Electronics, Precision Mechanical Engineering, Fermentation Chemical Engineering, and Industrial Management. The school was promoted to Ajou Engineering College a year later and produced its first graduates in 1997. In 1997, Kim, Woo-jung, the chairman of Daewoo International, contributed his personal wealth to establish Daewoo Institute and took over Ajou University.^[4]

Overview

Ajou University, established in 1973 under the motto of "Asia's best university for the 21st century", is a leading research university with 10 colleges in Korea. Located in Suwon, about 30 km south of Seoul, Ajou has 14,000 students (9,000 undergraduate, 3,500 graduate, and 1,500 in other courses).

The strength in Ajou's academic programs and research lies in Engineering, IT, BT, NT, Medical Science, Business and International Studies. Ajou is widely recognized for its innovative international programs and strong support for international students and has collaborative partnership with over 200 universities in 58 countries. There is a wide range of international programs at Ajou including student and faculty exchanges, international summer school, Korean language program, etc. International students are taking courses offered in English by various majors. Today Ajou is welcoming about 750 international students a year.

Notable Academic Programs

The oldest and the largest school at Ajou University is the College of Engineering with its four divisions: Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Electronics Engineering, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, and Environmental and Urban Systems Engineering.

The Ajou School of Medicine opened in 1988. In 2012, a total of 705 students graduated from the school.

In 2011 the College of pharmacy was opened.

Reputation and Rankings

Ajou University has a sizable exchange program that includes about 250 universities in 60 countries, and involving about 600 exchange students yearly.^[5] In 2014, Ajou University was ranked 16th by the JoongAng Ilbo newspaper out of approximately 400 educational institutes in South Korea.^[6] In 2015, the QS Asian University Rankings ranked the university 112th in Asia.^[7]

Education Programs

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  Ajou Medical School
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  Ajou Electronics Lab.
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  Digital Library at Ajou University

Sports Star Alumni

The Ajou university soccer team has won three consecutive national championships from 1993 to 1995. Notable alumni include:

Ahn Jung-Hwan (2002 FIFA World Cup and 2006 FIFA World Cup member of Korean National Team)
Ha Seok-Ju (1998 FIFA World Cup member of Korean National Team)
Lee Min-Sung (1998 FIFA World Cup member of Korean National Team)
Woo Sung-Yong (appeared in 2007 AFC Asian Cup as a member of Korean Nation Team)

Symbol

The Statue of Pioneer is the symbol of Ajou University. It is located at the school’s main entrance.

The Statue of Pioneer .

Dining Halls

The campus is served by 2 big restaurants and many minor restaurants. The biggest restaurant is close to dormitories and is called Dormitory restaurant. It is double storey and serves Korean style food as well as western style food. The second biggest restaurant is called Student restaurant and is located in Student union building. Apart from this there are restaurants in Paldal hall, and Dasan hall.

Dormitories

There are four big dormitories on campus. Nam-jae dormitory, Yong-Ji dormitory, Hwa-hong dormitory and Kwang-Gyu dormitory. Nam-jae and Yong-ji dormitories are exclusively boys dormitories while Kwang-gyu is a girls dormitory. Hwa-hong houses both males and females (on separate floors, girls floors are female-keycard access only) and is the only dormitory open to foreigners as exchange students or regular students. Except for Hwa-hong dormitory all the dormitories have rooms with four occupants each. Hwa-hong has 2-bed and 4-bed rooms. It also has single rooms for visiting professors.

Four Seasons at Ajou

See also

• List of Korea-related topics
• Education in South Korea

External links

• Ajou University Website

References

Coordinates: 37°16′58″N 127°02′46″E / 37.282913°N 127.04607°E / 37.282913; 127.04607