Konkuk University Signing MOU with KSTU, Krygyzstan Konkuk University announced on the 27th that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Kyrgyzstan Institute of Technology (Kyrgyz State Technical University) in Kyrgyzstan, Central Asia, for cooperation in various academic research and relationship development including mutual exchange between professors and students.
Dinara Kamelova, the ambassador of Krygyzstan in Korea, and the President Min, Sang-Ki have signed the MOU using ZOOM as international video conferencing for the first time on the 23rd. During the ceremony where it was held at the conference room of Konkuk University’s administration building, introduction of the two universities and international cooperation schemes were discussed by the participants.
Founded in 1954 by Iskhak Razakov, the first Secretary of the Communist Party of Kyrgyzstan from 1950 to 1961, the University of Technology in Kyrgyzstan was established as the French Polytechnic Institute (FPI) back then and was the only higher education institution of science and technology in Kyrgyzstan. French Polytechnic Institute (FPI), which started with 30 professors and 350 students in two technical education courses, later developed into KSTU named after Rajakov. It is now a representative university of Kyrgyzstan with 14,000 enrolled students, graduates, 280 doctoral students, and 1,550 professors and staffs. Rajakov has greatly contributed to the national development and educational culture of Kyrgyzstan, and as a side note, the current Kyrgyzstan National University, KSTU, and Kyrgyzstan Women’s Education Institution were all built during his reign.
The university which is located in Bishkek, the capital and the largest city of Krygyzstan, is leading the way in engineering in eighth place among 24 universities in Krygyzstan. The country has been actively promoting cooperation in IT and agricultural technology between Korea and Central Asia, and the Information Access Center (IAC), which Korea installed in 2010 to establish IT infrastructure and information education system for underdeveloped countries, is currently located in Krygyzstan, as well.
The agreement between Konkuk University and KSTU is expected to lead cooperative exchange including mutual exchange of faculty, students, academic information or materials, joint research, and planning of academic programs.