FDU Silberman welcomes Korean students through the KoreaPEN Program this fall semester, spearheaded by Professor EJ Ko
Written by student marketing intern Jamie Bonaccorso
After meeting and messaging via LinkedIn, Silberman entrepreneurship professor Dr. Eun-Jeong Ko and Ms. Min-Jung Kim founder and CEO of KoreaPEN successfully introduced an exciting program to the FDU community. Partnering with Induk University, Dr. Ko has worked to bring 14 Korean students to the U.S. where they had the opportunity to evolve their business ideas abroad. There is no doubt why Dean Pierre Balthazard was on board with this unique opportunity that provided students from abroad the chance to work with FDU’s global entrepreneurship program to develop their business skills. Dr. Ko gave some insight into the program and her experience below.
What opportunities did this program provide for the students?
Through a month-long process, the students were split into three teams working to identify three different business opportunities in the U.S. Once having built business models for each opportunity, students took their ideas beyond the classroom and gathered real feedback from real audiences. By traveling to New York, visiting various organizations, in addition to conducting interviews via phone calls, each team had the chance to discuss their business ideas with their target audience. Having gathered feedback from their target consumer base, the teams were able to take a step back and modify their business ideas as well as business models.
What were the goals or purposes of conducting various forms of research?
After conducting 80–100 interviews, each team was better able to understand what changes needed to be made to their business ideas and models to effectively adapt to the needs of their target customers. In gathering vital information through the primary research stage, the teams were then able to shift to secondary research which gave them a better perspective on the industry and market for their designated business idea. Similarly, another unique opportunity presented through this program was students were able to create social media accounts as well as YouTube channels for their businesses. By developing social media accounts for their businesses each team was able to draw engagement and awareness, while increasing interest in the products or services that would be made available to customers. On another note, students were able to build their businesses from a financial standpoint as well by looking at the impact factors such as future revenues, costs, and profits may have on their businesses.
What were the final stages of this program like for the students?
Once having taken all the necessary steps to build their business models but also determine the feasibility of their business ideas, each team collected feedback from professionals within the U.S. and abroad. Each team shared their presentations with venture capitalists, a member of the NJSBDC, investors as well as entrepreneurs from locations including Hong Kong, Germany, and South Korea. Having the opportunity to receive feedback from customers in addition to professionals was certainly a great way for the teams to determine if their business ideas were on the right track but also how they can further expand their idea to ensure it’s successful.
What’s next for the students and the program?
Evidently, this program turned out to be a huge success as the students participated in a unique learning experience that granted them the opportunity to earn real feedback from real people and experts while learning how to develop a solid and most importantly feasible business idea. While the future of their business ideas is unknown, as it has not been determined if FDU’s entrepreneurship program will be able to bring these ideas to launch as of yet, the students were able to take meaningful lessons away from this experience. As the first group of students to embark on this journey, they were able to develop their business skills in various aspects while hopefully drawing inspiration that will drive them toward a future of entrepreneurship. Looking ahead, FDU and Induk University have excitingly signed an MOU that will allow for the expansion of this program. That being said, future opportunities not only for students abroad but students here on our U.S. campus may potentially be presented. With the success of the students who had partaken in the program this semester, it becomes clear that this opportunity should be left in place for future students both here and abroad. It will certainly be exciting to see what is next for the program!
