KU Latin America leadership lecture series 1
Finding an answer in Costa Rica
Dr. Henning Jensen-Pennington, president of the university of Costa Rica, gives a guest lecture.

On February 10, at 2 pm, Korea University held the first lecture of the KU Latin America Leadership Lecture Series in the π-Ville 99 Auditorium. The lecture series is part of the Latin America Project administered by the university with the aim of attracting talented students from Latin America and ultimately, taking itself to the level of major universities in the world. Sponsored by the project, 30 KU students have studied abroad in Costa Rica, and students from Costa Rica are currently studying at Korea University.

Starting with the lecture by the President of the University of Costa Rica, Dr. Henning Jensen-Pennington, seven more lectures are planned as part of the KU Latin America Leadership Lecture Series. These lectures will be given by prominent figures including ambassadors to South Korea from Mexico and Costa Rica, as well as Dae-sung Oh, Director of the KU Institute for International Development Cooperation, who once worked as the South Korean ambassador to El Salvador. Dr. Jensen-Pennington, a well-known professor and psychologist in Costa Rica, is the President of the University of Costa Rica, as well as the President of the Association of Universities and Research Institutions of the Caribbean (UNICA). He gave a lecture on the perspectives of higher education in Costa Rica.

Before the lecture began, KU President Jaeho Yeom delivered his congratulatory speech. “We have 30 students who have already made their way to Costa Rica for further study. The university will expand the spectrum of our Latin America Project from Costa Rica into other Latin American countries such as Mexico, Cuba, Argentina, and Chile. By doing so, we expect to send approximately 500 undergraduate students to the Latin American region by 2020. Today, we have the President of the University of Costa Rica who will give us a precious lecture. I hope, through the Latin America Project, we can broaden our perspective from Korea to Latin America, and ultimately to the world,” he said.

Dr. Jensen-Pennington started off his lecture with an explanation on the basic principle that universities in Latin America abide by: “A university should be an autonomous institute that contributes to the society.” According to Dr. Jensen-Pennington, this principle has become fundamental to Latin American universities. The drive behind the development of these universities is the dedication to social contribution and the development of knowledge and scientific technologies. “As part of their graduation requirements, students at the University of Costa Rica must participate in programs for 300 hours that make contributions to local communities. To meet their graduation requirements, students visit everywhere in Costa Rica, especially where living conditions are harsh, and help the communities,” he said.

He cited an example of a PhD holder who made a great contribution to the society of Costa Rica. “After graduation, he furthered his study abroad and came back to his mother country. Even though he had a lot of options to choose as his research topic – some of them were most-sought-after topics by researchers in the world, he chose to study on poisonous snakes that posed a serious threat to the Costa Rican communities at the time. Thanks to his research, our country has seen remarkable advancements in anti-venom and neutralization technologies,” he said. According to Dr. Jenson-Pennington, the most important principle that a university should follow is supporting the local community it belongs to. Speaking about the scholarship system at the University of Costa Rica, he said, “If you look at our annual budget, our university allocates quite a lot of funds for the scholarship program. Latin American universities always put their emphasis on the equality of educational opportunity.”

He then changed his topic to the autonomy of universities. “In Costa Rica, the autonomy of universities is guaranteed by law. Each university lives up to its own educational philosophy without being interfered by the government or law. I believe that a university, where freedom of teaching and learning is guaranteed, will advance our society in an unprecedented way. In Costa Rica, universities have played a pivotal role in the development of the economy and technology. Students dedicate their capabilities to the country, which, on a broader scale, leads to regaining peace and resolving conflicts in the region.” He wrapped up his lecture by saying, “Developing a common educational environment is one of the goals we pursue. To achieve this goal, we send our faculty and students through exchange programs to Europe, the United States, and South Korea.”