Ministry of Science and ICT to Select Private Experts for Accelerating ICT

Selection of Private Experts in Three Fields: Digital Social Innovation, ICT Convergence Technology, and Broadcasting, Radio Waves, and Satellites

[Asia Economy Reporter Eunmo Koo] The Ministry of Science and ICT and the Institute for Information & Communications Technology Planning & Evaluation (IITP) announced on the 23rd that they will select private experts (Program Managers, PMs) to be in charge of planning research and development (R&D) projects in the information and communication technology (ICT) field. This recruitment will select PMs in three areas: ▲Digital Social Innovation ▲ICT Convergence Technology ▲Broadcasting, Radio Waves, and Satellites. The announcement and application period will be from the 25th of this month to the 23rd of next month.

So far, the Ministry of Science and ICT has appointed a total of eight PMs for each technology field (ICT Convergence, Communication and Radio Waves, Software & Cloud, Artificial Intelligence & Data, Broadcasting & Content, Next-generation Security, Blockchain, Devices & Quantum) and has been operating them. Each PM has played a role in policy advisory and planning R&D projects and tasks in their respective technology fields.

Recently, as the ICT R&D budget has increased and new technology issues such as the expansion of non-face-to-face services, carbon neutrality, and solving social problems using ICT have emerged, the scope of ICT R&D has expanded. To enhance the planning expertise of PMs and respond quickly to new technology issues, the scope of work for each PM has been adjusted, and the number of PMs has been expanded to nine. In addition, while strengthening performance evaluations for PMs, the initial term has been shortened from the existing three years to two years to improve job stability for outstanding personnel, and the maximum term has been extended from the current seven years (3+2+2) to eight years (2+2+2+2).

Meanwhile, as the technical scope handled by PMs expands, a ‘Project Specialist (PS)’ system will be newly established to support PMs’ task planning work and strengthen expertise in detailed technical fields. This year, a blockchain-dedicated PS affiliated with IITP will be selected to support the work of the ‘Security & Blockchain PM,’ and from next year, the operation of PSs will be expanded.

Lee Seung-won, Director of Information and Communication Industry Policy at the Ministry of Science and ICT, said, “PMs are key policy stakeholders who connect research field opinions with ICT R&D policies while presenting the mid- to long-term vision of information and communication technology. We will discover the best technical experts to create results from the Digital New Deal that the government has been promoting since last year and accelerate digital technology innovation.”