Daejeon RISE Project in Full Swing... Six Major Strategic Initiatives Launched with 65.5 Billion Won Investment

Daejeon Holds RISE Committee Meeting
...Deliberates and Approves 2025 Implementation Plan

The event was attended by 22 members, including Lee Jangwoo, co-chairman and mayor of Daejeon, Seol Dongho, superintendent of Daejeon Metropolitan Office of Education, presidents of local universities, and representatives of industry-related organizations. Photo by Daejeon City

Daejeon City is officially launching the Daejeon-style RISE (Regional Innovation System & Education) project to promote the joint growth of the local community, universities, and industries.

On the afternoon of the 5th, the city held the 'Daejeon Regional Innovation-Centered University Support System (RISE) Committee' at the city hall's main conference room, where they deliberated and approved this year's Daejeon RISE implementation plan.

The Regional Innovation-Centered University Support System (RISE) is a policy that shifts the traditional university support system from being led by the Ministry of Education to being driven by local governments. Through university innovation linked to regional industries, it aims to achieve the joint growth of both the region and universities.

Daejeon RISE aims to 'establish an educational innovation ecosystem of cooperation among local government, industry, academia, research, and public sectors to realize Daejeon as an ABCD+QR economic and science city.' To achieve this, five core projects will be promoted: ▲Specialization of university education to lead the region ▲Activation of local employment and entrepreneurship ▲Advancement of sustainable cooperation among local government, industry, academia, and research ▲Strengthening of career and lifelong education for lifelong growth ▲Resolution of local issues through RISE facilitation.

Through these strategies, the city plans to bring about tangible changes such as customized talent development tailored to local needs, educational innovation linked to regional industries, and the activation of employment and entrepreneurship.

In January of this year, the city was selected as an outstanding local government in the Ministry of Education's evaluation, securing an additional 12.4 billion KRW in national funding. Including this, the total scale of the Daejeon RISE project for 2025 will reach 65.5 billion KRW.

Starting in March, a public contest process will begin for local universities, and through fair evaluation, unit projects to be carried out by each university will be selected and fully implemented. In particular, the city will focus on key projects to promote local settlement, such as curriculum reform, research collaboration, and employment and entrepreneurship support, in connection with Daejeon's six strategic industries (aerospace, bio, nano/semiconductor, defense, quantum, robotics) and specialized industries.

Lee Jangwoo, Mayor of Daejeon, said, "As the Regional Innovation-Centered University Support (RISE) project is now in full swing, the region, universities, industries, and research institutes must cooperate even more closely," adding, "We will create an innovative model where Daejeon's outstanding talent settles in the region and local industries grow together."