TEU MED 2nd Cohort Orientation Hosted by Donggeurami Foundation for Medical Science Innovation Entrepreneur Training Program

- From the 30th, training for 37 final selected participants including medical professionals, doctors, medical business workers, and the general public
- Conducting 7 weeks of medical science innovation technology lectures, startup education, team projects, and Innovation Day until June

The orientation for the 2nd cohort of TEU MED (Donggurami Foundation-TEU Medical Program), hosted and sponsored by the Donggurami Foundation (Chairman Kwon Chi-jung) and organized by the TIDE Institute, was held offline on the 30th at the DDP Seoul On video studio in Seoul.

[At the TEU MED 2nd Orientation, 37 participants and key speakers are taking a commemorative photo. Ahn Cheol-soo, a participant from Donggeurami Foundation (fifth from the left in the first row), Kwon Chi-jung, Chairman (second from the left), followed by Seo Jung-wook, Professor Emeritus at Seoul National University, Lee Je-ho, Chairman of Seoul Bio Fund, Lee Kyung-ok, CEO of Tide Institute (third from the right in the first row), Kang Jong-soo, CEO of Colz Dynamics (second from the right)]

The TEU MED program began when the Donggurami Foundation proposed integrating the medical field into the TEU (TIDE Envision University) program of the TIDE Institute (CEO Lee Kyung-ok) to discover innovative technologies in healthcare and nurture innovators. Participants of the 2nd cohort will gain insights through seven weeks of lectures on the latest medical science technologies, startup education, team projects, a two-day overnight springboard, mentoring, and field trips, and will also have the opportunity to validate the potential of their team business models.

This year’s program has strengthened offline education and team projects compared to the first cohort last year. It added a two-day overnight springboard for intensive team projects and a personal project to enhance individual insights. As a result of recruitment, there was a 25.6% increase in applications compared to last year, with over 83% of applicants being medical professionals. Furthermore, in addition to the Donggurami Foundation, D.CAMP, SparkLabs, and Colz Dynamics participated as sponsoring organizations, providing more diverse support.

At the event, Ahn Cheol-soo, a contributor from the Donggurami Foundation, delivered a congratulatory speech stating, “For the survival of the Republic of Korea, education, science and technology, and startups are crucial. Ultimately, talented individuals develop new science and technology and commercialize it, contributing to national development.” He emphasized the importance of establishing a foundation for the startup environment in our society. He also mentioned, “Today, April 30, 2022, marks the 10th anniversary of the Donggurami Foundation’s establishment, making this day even more meaningful,” encouraging active participation from the 2nd cohort participants along with the foundation’s founding purpose.

Following this, keynote speaker Hwang Sung-hyun, CEO of Quantum Insight, delivered insights on new industries and markets of the future society under the theme “Dream & Create, The Exponential Future.” The Grand Challenge lectures included △ Lee Guk-jong, Director of the Korea Maritime Federation, on “Maritime Medical System” △ Kim Jung-hoon, Professor of Ophthalmology at Seoul National University Hospital, on “Forefront of Fight for Vision: In vivo Genome Editing” △ Heo Jun-nyeong, Clinical Research Assistant Professor at Severance Hospital, on “How to Assist Treatment and Save Patients: Experience with the COVID-19 Decision Support Platform.”

The 37 participants present at the venue got to know each other through icebreaking, ground rules, and unconference sessions after the lectures, officially starting the seven-week program.

Kwon Chi-jung, Chairman of the Donggurami Foundation, stated, “The foundation has been conducting various research support, startup education and support projects, and contests to bring about positive changes in our society through supporting innovative science and technology development.” He added, “Especially since over 80% of the TEU MED 2nd cohort participants are medical majors and related professionals, this will be a valuable opportunity to consider the innovation and effectiveness of medical innovation technology-based startups from multiple perspectives.”

The Donggurami Foundation is a nonprofit public interest foundation established in 2012 by contributor Ahn Cheol-soo, who donated 121 billion KRW. Since its establishment, it has continuously operated social contribution projects to realize the vision of ‘The Beginning of Change, a Network of Opportunity and Sharing’ through innovative technology development, fostering local social enterprises, startup education, and research support. In 2020 and 2021, through a public contest for ‘Innovation Science and Technology Centers and Programs’ aimed at solving humanity’s challenges, it supported a total of eight universities and research centers conducting innovative science and technology R&D in the fields of energy, environment, public health, and cybersecurity with a total of 2.8 billion KRW over two years.