TIPA, Full-Cycle Support for SME Technology Development in the SoBuJang Sector

TIPA-KAIST-KETI Sign Operating Agreement to Promote Technology Development for SMEs and Ventures

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jong-hwa] The Korea Technology and Information Promotion Agency for SMEs (TIPA) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the 27th at the TIPA Sejong headquarters with the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and the Korea Electronics Technology Institute (KETI), which were selected as operating institutions for the 2021 'Materials, Parts, and Equipment Strategic Cooperation R&D' project, to establish a mutually organic cooperative system for full-cycle support of technology development in the materials, parts, and equipment sector.

The 'Materials, Parts, and Equipment Strategic Cooperation R&D' is a pilot project launched this year that selects universities and research institutes possessing technology, infrastructure, and personnel in the materials, parts, and equipment sector as operating institutions (platformization) to promote customized technology development tailored to the demands of promising small and medium-sized venture companies in the sector.

Through this agreement, KAIST and KETI, as operating institutions, will directly identify technologies needed in the market, plan Requests for Proposals (RFPs), and conduct joint research and development with small and medium-sized venture companies in the materials, parts, and equipment sector. As an R&D private platform, they will provide customized support for each company according to technology development demands.

What differentiates this project from existing industry-academia-research cooperation R&D support projects is that it is a private-led project that grants maximum autonomy and responsibility centered on the selected operating institutions (universities and government-funded research institutes) as platforms.

Additionally, by continuously reflecting field opinions during the technology development process to discover market-demanded technologies, and by allowing small and medium-sized venture companies to freely utilize the human, physical, and intellectual infrastructure possessed by universities and research institutes, a cooperative environment is created that is expected to generate synergy effects.

Lee Jae-hong, President of TIPA, stated, "Through the signing of this MOU, an environment where small and medium-sized venture companies can freely utilize and collaborate with the technology development infrastructure possessed by universities and research institutes has been established, and we expect good synergy in the future." He added, "We will actively support domestic small and medium-sized venture companies to secure world-class materials, parts, and equipment technology and strengthen their self-reliance capabilities."