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European Union (EU) Ambassador Brian McDonald projected online universities will play critical roles for those who are eager to learn more but are prevented from doing so through difficulties or financial barriers.
``One of the big attractions of cyber universities is to provide education to people who otherwise wouldn't be able to have higher education. It's a very worthwhile activity,'' McDonald told The Korea Times during an interview at Seoul Cyber University (SCU).
``We have the Open University in U.K. but this (cyber university) is done online and is interesting. There are more cyber universities here but at the same time, I think it's something that is developing pretty quickly in European countries. These universities give more flexibility to people who have difficulty securing time for education,'' he added.
The chief of the EU Commission here visited SCU to deliver a congratulatory speech at the school's graduation ceremony last Saturday. In his speech, McDonald stressed the close partnership and cooperation between Korea and the EU.
``We are two regions with shared values and goals. Our cooperation will be an essential component in dealing with the global issues of our time ― climate change, ensuring healthy flows of trade and investment, and ensuring peace and security,'' he said.
With this regard, the EU ambassador believes cyber universities can help bring more people to share their ideas for the benefit of society. ``I think it is important to try to include as many people as you can for social cohesion and to learn about and solve problems together in cyber space,'' he said.
During the commencement ceremony, McDonald mentioned that the EU is committed to peace on the Korean Peninsula. ``Since 1995 the European Commission and EU Member States have supplied more that half a billion Euros worth of humanitarian assistance to vulnerable communities in North Korea,'' he said. ``It is a consistent policy of the EU that humanitarian assistance should be determined on humanitarian grounds not out of political consideration.''
On that day, some 1,600 students received licenses and degrees in 16 majors from five schools; Human Welfare, Social Science, Business & International Commerce, Information Technology and General Education. Established in 2001, SCU, which was recognized last year as a higher education institute by the government, has a total of 7,159 graduates. The online university is currently developing various programs to satisfy demands for a growing number of businessmen and government officials seeking life-long education.
As for the ongoing Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations between Korea and the EU, McDonald said ``We hope to conclude the negotiations in early March. After about two to three weeks we hope we can arrive at a final agreement, we are close to the end of negotiations.''
McDonald has served as the head of the EU Delegation to Korea since 2006. He has also held posts at the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development in Hong Kong, and at the European Economic and Trade Office in Taiwan before he was appointed to his current position.
A law graduate from University College Dublin and Harvard University Law School, he was called to the Bar in 1968 and has a law doctorate from University College Dublin. He joined the European Commission in 1973 after serving in the Irish Foreign Ministry. He has published a book titled ``The World Trading System: the Uruguay Round and beyond.''
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