Pohang City Aims to Build a Glocal University Leading Model by Uniting Regional, Industrial, Academic, and Research Forces in the East Sea Area

Joint Promotion of Glocal Universities in the East Sea Rim Region... Signing of Cooperation Agreement among Government, Industry, Academia, and Research

POSTECH Leading Nuclear Power, SMR, Secondary Battery, Hydrogen Industry Development, and Regio

On the 30th, Pohang City held a signing ceremony for a "Business Agreement for the Joint Promotion of Glocal Universities in the East Sea Region" at the city hall's main conference room with Pohang City, Gyeongju City, Uljin County, POSTECH, Dongguk University WISE Campus, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, POSCO Holdings, POSCO Future M, and EcoPro BM.

On the 30th, Pohang City held a signing ceremony for a business agreement to jointly promote glocal universities in the East Sea region at the city hall's large conference room, with Pohang City, Gyeongju City, Uljin County, POSTECH, Dongguk University WISE Campus, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, POSCO Holdings, POSCO Future M, and EcoPro BM.

The signing ceremony was attended by Kim Nam-il, Deputy Mayor of Pohang; Kim Il-man, Vice Chairman of the City Council; Joo Nak-young, Mayor of Gyeongju; Son Byung-bok, County Governor of Uljin; Kim Moo-hwan, President of POSTECH; Lee Young-kyung, President of Dongguk University WISE Campus; Won Byung-chul, Principal Researcher at Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute; Kim Jeong-han, Head of the Cathode Material Research Center at POSCO Future M; Park Ji-young, HR Manager at EcoPro BM; as well as executives from companies and school officials.

This agreement ceremony was organized to establish a cooperation system among local governments, key industries, universities, and research institutes in the East Sea region to build a leading model of glocal universities, with the understanding that the development of universities will lead to the advancement of local communities and, ultimately, the nation.

A glocal university refers to a university that leads development linked to regional development strategies with the goal of mutual growth between the region and the university amid the impending crisis of local universities caused by population decline, decreasing school-age population, and rapid changes in industrial structure. Such a university possesses global competitiveness in specialized fields that can drive the growth of other universities in the region and lead innovation.

Through this agreement, the institutions in the East Sea region (Pohang, Gyeongju, Uljin) and regional companies (POSCO Holdings, POSCO Future M, EcoPro BM) agreed to cooperate for the success of POSTECH’s glocal university project, as POSTECH is a world-class research-oriented university located in the region.

Additionally, companies, universities, and research institutes centered on POSTECH will join forces to build a global leading technology value chain in the East Sea region, spanning secondary batteries and hydrogen (Pohang), nuclear power and SMR (Gyeongju), and nuclear hydrogen (Uljin), thereby strengthening the foundation for regional co-prosperity and development.

The main contents of the agreement include ▲ administrative and financial support from local governments for glocal universities ▲ educational support for universities to nurture talent in regional strategic industries ▲ joint project discovery and cooperation among the signatory institutions (local governments, industries, academia, and research) in regional strategic industries such as nuclear power, hydrogen energy, and secondary batteries ▲ human and material exchanges and comprehensive mutual cooperation support among the signatory institutions (local governments, industries, academia, and research).

Kim Nam-il, Deputy Mayor of Pohang, stated, “In the face of crises such as local extinction and rapid changes in industrial structure, universities and local companies must cooperate flexibly and boldly for regional development,” adding, “We will do our utmost together with industry, academia, and research to successfully promote the glocal university, which is a springboard for the region to go global.”

Kim Moo-hwan, President of POSTECH, said, “From the perspective of the Korean map, the East Sea region surrounding the east coast serves as the backbone of the Republic of Korea,” and added, “Through the successful promotion of the glocal university, we will strive to make our East Sea region a core axis of regional and national development.”

POSTECH, which has led innovation in Korean universities, continues its efforts in various innovative projects and investments to advance globally hand-in-hand with the region through the glocal university project.