Four Bucheon Universities Selected for Gyeonggi RISE Project, Securing 35.6 Billion KRW

Bucheon City in Gyeonggi Province announced on June 10 that four local universities?Catholic University, Seoul Theological University, Bucheon University, and Yuhan University?have been selected for Gyeonggi Province's RISE (Regional Innovation System for Education) project.

The RISE project is a university support system focused on regional innovation, designed to help overcome the challenges faced by local communities and universities due to the declining school-age population and to support the joint growth of both. This system was introduced in Gyeonggi Province for the first time this year.

With this selection, the four universities in Bucheon will receive a total of 7.12 billion KRW annually, and up to 35.6 billion KRW over five years in project funding. The city explained that this achievement is the result of ongoing collaboration with these universities to foster a regional innovation ecosystem.

At the 'RISE Project Promotion Business Agreement Ceremony' held at Bucheon City Hall on April 1, Jeongseok Han, President of Bucheon University (from left), Jungyu Choi, President of Catholic University, Yongik Jo, Mayor of Bucheon, Deokhyung Hwang, President of Seoul Theological University, and Hyunjung Kim, President of Yuhan University, are taking a commemorative photo. Bucheon City

In 2023, the city enacted the "Ordinance on Cooperative Development between Bucheon City and Universities," and last year established a University Cooperation Team to provide an institutional foundation. Since last year, the city has also provided proactive administrative support for the RISE project selection, including signing business agreements, hosting lectures on best practices, discussing cooperation plans with the Council for Mutual Development, and submitting project proposals.

Yongik Jo, Mayor of Bucheon, stated, "The fact that all four local universities were selected for the RISE project demonstrates the external recognition of Bucheon's educational competitiveness and regional innovation capabilities. The city and universities will work closely together to nurture local talent and build an innovation ecosystem based on a strong residential foundation."