TIPA, Excellent R&D Collaboration Cases Between SMEs and Research Institutes Revealed

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jong-hwa] A forum was held to promote the establishment of an industry-academia-research cooperation foundation and the dissemination of achievements by publicizing the efforts and excellent cooperation cases of leading research institutions such as the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology and the Korea Energy Technology Institute in supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Technology and Information Promotion Agency for SMEs (TIPA) announced on the 28th that they will hold a performance sharing meeting at the Seoul Trade Exhibition & Convention Center (SETEC) in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, to present the operational achievements of the 'Cooperative R&D Project with Leading Research Institutions Supporting SMEs.'

Since 2019, TIPA has designated and collaborated with five leading research institutions ? Korea Institute of Industrial Technology, Korea Energy Technology Institute, Korea Electronics Technology Institute, Korea Automotive Technology Institute, and Korea Institute of Materials Science ? to support the entire R&D cycle of SMEs (company diagnosis → technology development → technology commercialization) to resolve technological difficulties and enhance innovation capabilities.

The leading research institutions support the entire technology innovation cycle of SMEs through a step-by-step package: from company diagnosis utilizing excellent personnel and research equipment infrastructure owned by the research institutions, to value-creation type technology development (R&VD) through cooperation between SMEs and the leading research institutions, and finally to market-customized technology commercialization support. Additionally, a council of leading research institutions, which acts as a think tank for activating industry-academia-research cooperative technology development, generating outcomes, and policy formulation, is actively operating.

At this performance sharing meeting, cooperation cases tailored to the characteristics of each research institution will be presented, including △ technology advancement through reliability assurance in the hot shear process, △ development of an augmented reality-based smart factory management/work support service platform, △ technology development for regeneration of activated carbon for air treatment, △ development of a controller for PTC heaters applying SoC, and △ development of fusion parts between dissimilar materials through technology transfer of linear ion beam surface treatment.

A representative from one of the leading research institutions stated, "The passion and enthusiasm of the personnel in each institution are tremendous. Especially, the results of cooperation such as job creation and sales increase are now becoming visible, but it is regrettable as the project is ending next year," adding, "Long-term government support is necessary to achieve remarkable outcomes through industry-academia-research cooperation."

Lee Jae-hong, Director of TIPA, said, "Cooperation is not an option but a necessity for SMEs and startups that have potential but face difficulties due to lack of infrastructure," and added, "We will ensure the approval of new projects we are planning to continuously promote cooperation with research institutions possessing excellent technology and research environments."

Those wishing to watch the performance sharing meeting can participate through the 'ITS 2021 homepage,' and an award ceremony for outstanding contributors to industry-academia-research cooperation will also be held on the day of the event.