Starting Practical Talent Development in Line with Nowon-gu S-DBC (Seoul Digital Bio City) Establishment
Four Local Universities Collaborate to Launch and Operate Digital Bio Convergence Majors
Industry-Academia Cooperation Foundation Established with S-DBC Resident Companies for Internships, Joint Research Platforms, and More
Nowon-gu, Seoul (Mayor Oh Seung-rok) announced that it will take the first step toward introducing a Boston-style ecosystem to Seoul Digital Bio City (hereinafter S-DBC) by fostering future digital bio talent.
The S-DBC project is a core initiative designed to shape Nowon's 100-year future by creating a digital bio enterprise complex covering approximately 247,933㎡ on the sites of the Changdong Vehicle Depot and Dobong Driver’s License Examination Office relocation.
Bio is one of the national key emerging industries with the highest demand for manpower. According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy’s “Survey on the Supply and Demand of Industrial Technology Manpower,” among the 12 major national industries, the current manpower shortage rate ranks second. The Korea Health Industry Development Institute’s “Status of Biohealth Industry Workforce Structure and Key Characteristics of Supply-Demand Mismatch” pointed out that 47.8% of companies identified a “gap between the companies’ talent requirements and job competencies and university curricula.”
Accordingly, the district office judged that the creation of a Boston-style ecosystem requires an organic agglomeration of industry-academia-research-hospital (産-學-硏-病) based on excellent human resources, and signed a business agreement with four local universities (Kwangwoon University, Samyook University, Seoul National University of Science and Technology, Seoul Women’s University).
Through the agreement, the district office and the four universities plan to jointly promote industry-academia cooperation projects such as ▲establishing and operating a digital bio convergence major undergraduate program through the establishment of the (tentatively named) Nowon Shared University ▲providing internship and employment opportunities to future S-DBC resident companies ▲creating an independent platform for joint research and technology exchange between universities and companies.
In addition, to facilitate the smooth promotion of the S-DBC project, the district office established a dedicated corporate attraction team called the “Bio Planning Team” in January and is conducting a project promotion strategy establishment service. In this process, the district office was the first to propose the concept of a shared university and has been accumulating achievements for digital bio talent development, including being designated as a future talent education special zone by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups.
Meanwhile, the agreement ceremony for bio talent development was held on the 11th at the Nowon-gu Office small conference room. Attendees included Nowon-gu Mayor Oh Seung-rok and the presidents of the four universities (Kwangwoon University’s Cheon Jang-ho, Samyook University’s Je Hae-jong, Seoul National University of Science and Technology’s Kim Dong-hwan, Seoul Women’s University’s Seung Hyun-woo).
Mayor Oh Seung-rok of Nowon-gu said, “This is an opportunity for the northeast region of Seoul to leap forward as an economic hub and a core project for Nowon’s 100-year future. I hope local universities actively engage in talent development for the S-DBC project.” He added, “Nowon-gu will also strengthen cooperation with universities and companies to advance as a self-sufficient city.”
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