From Aspiring Entrepreneurs to TIPS Companies, Gathered to Revitalize the Local Startup Ecosystem

2024 University Startup Festival
'Welcome to TIPS Honam Region' Event Held

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 12th that it held the ‘2024 University Startup Festival’ and ‘Welcome to TIPS Honam Region’ events at Jeonbuk National University in Jeonju, Jeonbuk. The University Startup Festival is an event where about 300 members of the local startup ecosystem, including prospective entrepreneurs such as students from startup clubs, senior entrepreneurs, university and local startup support organizations, gather, led by nine startup-focused universities.

This event consisted of the ‘Startup Talk Concert,’ where senior entrepreneurs share various experiences related to university startups, and the ‘Starlight Startup Ideathon,’ where 18 university startup club teams compete. Kim Seong-seop, Vice Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, attended and freely interacted with presidents of startup-focused universities, startup club students, young prospective entrepreneurs, and young startups.

At the Startup Talk Concert, Kim Tae-woo, Director of Binu Labs; Jeong Ji-seong, CEO of SOS Lab; Lee Chae-rin, CEO of Clasum; and Jeong Jin-woo, Director of Twelve Labs participated, sharing diverse experiences such as motivations for starting up at university, growth stories of local startups, and success stories of global expansion. During the following Q&A session, not only senior entrepreneurs but also Vice Minister Kim Seong-seop and local startups freely exchanged opinions on future policy tasks to revitalize university startups and regional entrepreneurship.

Kim Seong-seop, Vice Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, is delivering a greeting at the 'Welcome to TIPS Honam Region' event held on the 12th at Jeonbuk National University in Jeonju, Jeonbuk.

In the Starlight Startup Ideathon, 18 university startup club teams from across the country develop startup items related to solving issues such as climate change, low birth rates, and regional extinction over a 2-day, 1-night period. Through judging, the top five teams will be awarded the Minister of SMEs and Startups Award, the President of the Korea Institute of Startup & Entrepreneurship Development Award, and a total prize of 7 million KRW.

‘Welcome to TIPS,’ held prior to the university startup event, is an event planned to expand opportunities for meetings between TIPS operators and promising startups outside the metropolitan area. Following the event in Busan in June, it was also held in Jeonju. Through investment attraction (IR) events and networking with TIPS operators, it is expected to increase understanding of the TIPS program and selection opportunities for startups in the Honam region.

Vice Minister Kim Seong-seop of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups said, “It is impressive to see young people from all over the country freely interacting and seriously discussing under the theme of ‘startup,’” and “We will continue to create opportunities to participate in the TIPS program through the ‘Welcome to TIPS’ event so that young startups discovered and nurtured through local universities can grow sufficiently in the region.”