Ajou University’s Graduate School of International Studies (GSIS) will soon offer a master’s program in civil society leadership in Asia with the aim of educating and training future leaders to expedite development in developing countries.

On February 16, the GSIS was officially appointed by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) as an agency to operate KOICA’s Asian Civil Society Leadership Program. This postgraduate education and training will be provided by the GSIS with government grants totaling KRW 2 billion over the five years from 2021 to 2025.

KOICA has been supporting the development of master’s degree and training programs at Korean universities to facilitate the development of future leaders from around the world who can contribute to the economic and social progress of their respective countries. This year’s program focuses particularly on cultivating civil society leadership for Asia. As such, it will emphasize sharing the experiences and lessons of civil society growth in Korea with future leaders who will go on to foster strong civil societies in their own countries.

The GSIS, which won the competitive bidding process to form a partnership with KOICA, will organize three training programs over the next five years, recruiting 15 students for each training program for a total of 45 students. The curriculum will focus on ways to support the growth of civil societies in emerging economies across Asia and ways to enhance human capabilities for establishing a global cooperation system. Trainees will undergo 17 months of education and training toward obtaining a master’s degree in civil society/civil society leadership. Kang Shin-goo (Department of Political Science and Diplomacy) will oversee the program. 

The GSIS has been developing its expertise on providing education and training for international development cooperation through a number of KOICA-supported postgraduate programs it has offered in international commerce and management, industrial and trade policies, and energy policy since 2004.

Prof. Kim Byoung-kwan, Dean of the GSIS, commented: “The new Civil Society Leadership Program is a human resource development program aiming at facilitating the growth of healthy civil societies in developing countries. By sharing Korea’s experiences with future leaders recruited from partner countries, we will be able to pave the way for burgeoning civil societies in their respective countries and also enable them to respond better to common global issues.”