Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) has been selected by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy for the 'Global Trade Experts Training Project' for the sixth consecutive year, enabling it to further intensify training of trade experts through 2015.

That JBNU has been continuously selected since launching the project in 2007 is because the Global Trade Experts Training Project Group (Director: Professor Yoon Chung-won) has achieved significant results in training students as trade professionals.

In practice, the project group recently arranged, through active consultations with U.S. buyers, annual exports of $500,000 worth of beauty devices produced by YumiTech Co., Ltd., located in Palbok-dong, Jeonju. Students directly engaged with buyers, achieving both the development of export channels for small and medium-sized enterprises and practical on-site training. As a result, participating students' employment rate has reached about 80%, leading to positive outcomes.

The project group, which will resume in July this year, will provide intensive education in trade practice and export marketing for more than 600 hours over a 15-month period, including 60 hours of trade practice and 300 hours of domestic and overseas internships. Students will earn at least 18 credits in total.

In addition, to cultivate qualifications as trade experts, students will conclude agreements with local SMEs and engage daily in identifying overseas buyers and conducting export consultations, as well as participate directly in international exhibitions held domestically or abroad to support exports.

Alongside this, the project group conducts intensive special training for foreign languages and trade-related certification, and provides various services—such as interpretation and translation and trade contract drafting—as part of export support for partner companies.

Moreover, to develop a global mindset and practical trade experience, students are required to undertake trade internships of 2-6 months at overseas trading companies or trade-related institutions and at SMEs within and outside the province, which is expected to greatly contribute to improving employment rates.

Director Yoon Chung-won pledged, "Our project group's selection for six consecutive years is the result of participating students' devotion over several years, working late into the night to support exports for local SMEs," and added, "Going forward, we will devote all efforts to achieve four objectives: training trade professionals who meet the needs (needs) of the trade industry; contributing to export support and export expansion for SMEs in the Jeonbuk region; expanding employment for our graduates; and activating industry–government–academia collaboration in the humanities and social sciences."