Pyongyang University of Science and Technology

Pyongyang University of Science and Technology

Location	Pyongyang , Democratic People's Republic of Korea
Website	pust.co

Pyongyang University of Science and Technology
Chosŏn'gŭl	평양과학기술대학
Hancha	平壤科學技術大學
Revised Romanization	Pyeongyang Gwahak Gisul Daehak
McCune–Reischauer	P'yŏngyang Kwahak Kisul Taehak

File:Columbia SIPA students at PUST in DPRK (10682515504).jpg

PUST students pose with visitors from SIPA during a chemistry class.

Pyongyang University of Science and Technology (PUST) is North Korea's first privately funded university. It is founded, operated, and partly funded by associations and people outside the country. PUST was jointly planned and constructed by forces from the North and the South Korea, along with contributions from groups and individuals from other nations, in particular China and the USA. The initiative is largely funded by Evangelical Christian movements. Originally scheduled for launch in 2003, the project was delayed for several years and began operations in October 2010.

History

The university is in the countryside outside of Pyongyang in a separate but close administrative region with permission required for access to Pyongyang. After introductory negotiations, the PUST project was started in 2001, on the initiative of Professor Kim Chin Kyung, endorsed in a personal meeting with former North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il. Professor Kim's earlier accomplishments include being founding president of Yanbian University of Science and Technology (YUST) in northeastern China, but inside the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, founded in 1992. The PUST will cooperate with YUST and draw on their experiences.

With exception of foreign language courses, all teaching is conducted in English. Almost all faculty work as volunteers and come from a Christian background, with the president saying:

"While the skills to be taught are technical in nature, the spirit underlying this historic venture is unabashedly Christian...."

The PUST construction plans were politically troubled and slowed down in 2005 and 2006, in connection with the 2006 North Korean nuclear test, but later on resumed and have led to their conclusion. PUST classes began in the fall of October 2010. It had its official opening in September 2010 and planned to enroll up to 200 higher-level students per year, from both parts of Korea. Plans include the hiring of up to 250 faculty members from universities and research institutions in South Korea, China, the United States, and other countries. As a joint venture university, the PUST is seen as a contribution to the Korean reunification process.

Subjects

The goal of PUST is to contribute to North Korean economic development by producing professionals and leaders in technical disciplines, who are fluent in English and another foreign language (such as Chinese or German), and who are accustomed to working in an international setting. Bachelor of Science and doctorate degrees will be awarded in Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), Agriculture and Life Sciences (ALS), and International Finance and Management (IFM). The university has plans to open schools in Public Healthcare and Construction Engineering as early as 2013.

Graduate students and professors have internet access, but it is filtered and monitored.

See also

• List of universities in North Korea

External links

• Official website
• Official NGO website in America
• Communication for Yust Pust community
• Science Magazine "Crunch Time for North Korea's Revolutionary New University"
• My Experience at PUST
• Report in Science, April 2007: A mission to educate the elite