Joint Policy Announcement on Business Agreement and Collaboration Plans
Support Cooperation in Talent Development and Technical Research
Budget Support Starting Next Year Following Second Half Applications
Concrete Plans for Inter-Agency Joint Research and Collaboration
Relevant ministries will collaborate to establish a development system for local universities. When related ministries provide universities with support such as curricula and research funding, the Ministry of Education intends to break down barriers to enable the operation of regionally tailored curricula.
On the 22nd, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Science and ICT, and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy signed a memorandum of understanding at Daejeon Bio Orchestra and announced a joint policy on the 'Regional Development Project Collaboration Plan.' This aims to create a structure that allows universities, companies, and institutions to cooperate based on the 'Regional Innovation-centered University Support System (RISE).' Attending the agreement were Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Lee Ju-ho, Minister of Science and ICT Yoo Sang-im, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Ahn Deok-geun, and officials from related organizations.
Lee Ju-ho, Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs and Minister of Education. Photo by Jo Yong-jun jun21@
According to the collaboration plan announced by the relevant ministries on the day, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy will support the cultivation of talent tailored to regional industrial demands. When the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy provides technology commercialization funds to promising local companies through the Regional Industry Vitality Investment Fund, the Ministry of Education will support local universities in establishing company-customized curricula needed by those companies within the RISE system.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy is currently operating the first Regional Industry Vitality Investment Fund worth 26 billion KRW and plans to create an additional second investment fund worth 110 billion KRW by the end of this year.
The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy will also jointly support innovative technology development. When local companies and universities form a consortium to apply for research and development (R&D) projects, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy will provide research funds to companies, and the Ministry of Education will provide research funds to universities. After receiving and evaluating R&D project applications in the second half of this year, budget support will begin next year.
The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Science and ICT will support the establishment of a cooperative platform that fosters regional innovation through human resource development and technology transfer between regional flagship national universities and government-funded research institutes. The four regional platforms selected last year are ▲ Chungcheong region (secondary batteries) ▲ Honam and Jeju region (advanced mobility) ▲ Southeast region (hydrogen) ▲ Daegu-Gyeongbuk and Gangwon region (advanced mobility, artificial intelligence). The plan is to break down barriers between universities and institutions centered on these platforms to strengthen collaboration. There is also a vision to develop university-affiliated research institutes into national research institutes through this initiative.
In the second half of the year, the two ministries plan to concretize ways to expand collaboration, such as defining roles among specialized institutions, through joint planning research.
The Ministry of Education explained, "Previous projects were individually promoted according to each ministry's objectives, making linkage relatively difficult and resulting in low perceived regional outcomes. To resolve regional crises, comprehensive support that transcends ministry boundaries is essential."
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