1.      Background and Purpose

This program is part of the largest mid-career education reform undertaken by the Government of India for its elite public service, the Indian Administrative Service (IAS).  Maxwell School, Syracuse University, USA has been working with the Government of India on this project since 2005.  This is Phase IV program that Maxwell is developing for the Government of India.  The Maxwell School is engaged in an exciting project to provide training to Indian Administrative Service officials at the policy development level. The program includes a 6-week training program in India, 2 weeks of site visits abroad, and a policy project.

The Government of India has increasingly shown particularly strong demand for development experiences related to Korea through study visits to Korea.  Since 2007, the Maxwell School and KDI School of Public Policy and Management (KDI School) countersigned the MOU for the program and have started the Maxwell IAS Program: Korea Exposure Visit, every year.

The purpose of the site visit is for Indian officials to inherit experiences from Korea and its fast and vast post-war development miracles of the Han-river, which cannot be obtained from developed countries such as the U.S. Through this process, a benchmarking model for India’s economic development is to be set. The program will focus on the experiences and theories of economic development policy and social infrastructure investments, and also involve an introduction to the Korean culture, economy and society.

2. Expected Effects

The new economic and political context has changed the role of the IAS from a doer to a facilitator, a provider, and a monitor. The new role of the IAS in society requires officials to have skills with adoptive efficiency, and the ability to manage and direct changes such as the transition from a planned economy to competitive, market economy. In line with this context, we expect that the program will have a perceptible effect on the officials through vivid demonstration of the Korea example.

3. Program Outline

l      Period: June 28 ？ July 11, 2009 (14 days)

l      Venue: Grand Hilton Seoul

l      Participants: 103 Officers from Indian Administrative Service (IAS), India