University of Waterloo President on Official Visit to South Korea

WATERLOO, ON--(Marketwired - November 04, 2014) - The president of the University of Waterloo in Canada is on a week-long trip to the Republic of South Korea to explore opportunities for further collaboration with several institutions and government agencies in the country.

Professor Feridun Hamdullahpur, president and vice-chancellor of the University of Waterloo, is visiting South Korea during the first part of his trip to Asia, which also includes events in Hong Kong and Singapore.

In September, the University of Waterloo signed memoranda of understanding with the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), and Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) when the presidents of both institutions visited Waterloo. The MOU with KAIST provides opportunities for Waterloo co-op students to work in South Korea and KAIST exchange students to experience work-integrated learning while at Waterloo. The Institute for Quantum Computing at Waterloo signed an agreement with the KIST to expand research partnerships in the field of quantum information science.

"Our partnerships with KAIST and KIST bring together internationally recognized institutions known for excellence in teaching and research with the potential to greatly benefit our students, our communities, and beyond the borders of our countries," said Professor Hamdullahpur. "It is a pleasure for me to be back in South Korea, acknowledging Waterloo's existing important relationships here, as well as exploring additional opportunities for mutually beneficial collaboration."

Professor Hamdullahpur's itinerary includes:

• delivering the distinguished lecture at Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH);
• meeting with Professor Yongmin Kim, president of POSTECH;
• visiting Yonsei University in Seoul to renew an existing agreement and discuss new areas for collaboration; and,
• meeting the president of the National IT Promotion Agency (NIPA)

Professor Hamdullahpur will meet with Shinho Kim, the vice minister of education, and Jeonyoung Lee, president and CEO of Seoul Business Agency, to discuss the virtuous relationship involving cooperative education, innovation and entrepreneurship. There are 134 graduates of the University of Waterloo living in the Republic of South Korea, and Professor Hamdullahpur will attend an alumni event on his last day in the country.

"The Republic of Korea is a model of economic growth driven by innovation in the areas of science and technology," said Nello Angerilli, associate vice-president, international at Waterloo. "The respect we have for the achievements of the post-secondary institutions here cannot be overstated."

Last week, the Maclean's University Rankings again named the University of Waterloo Canada's most innovative university -- a title it has held for 23 consecutive years -- and ranked it first in its Best Overall category. Maclean's is Canada's only weekly national current affairs magazine. Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) also awarded the University of Waterloo the rating of five star plus in the QS Stars for outstanding performance in eight individual areas: research, employability, teaching, facilities, internationalization, innovation, engineering and technology and access.

About the University of Waterloo
In just half a century, the University of Waterloo, located at the heart of Canada's technology hub, has become one of Canada's leading comprehensive universities with 35,000 full- and part-time students in undergraduate and graduate programs. Waterloo, as home to the world's largest post-secondary co-operative education program, embraces its connections to the world and encourages enterprising partnerships in learning, research and discovery. In the next decade, the university is committed to building a better future for Canada and the world by championing innovation and collaboration to create solutions relevant to the needs of today and tomorrow. For more information about Waterloo, please visit www.uwaterloo.ca.