Silla University Department of Companion Animal Science Signs Business Agreement with Healpet Center

Collaboration to Advance the Companion Animal Industry,
Enhance Animal-Assisted Services,
and Foster a Healthy Companion Animal Culture

The Department of Companion Animal Science at Silla University (President: Heo Namsik) has signed a business agreement with Healpet Center to foster healthy companion relationships and culture.

Silla University Department of Companion Animal Science is signing a business agreement with Healpet Center. Photo by Silla University

The signing ceremony, held at the end of August, was attended by Professor Bae Ilkwon from the Department of Companion Animal Science at Silla University, as well as Healpet Center co-CEOs Jang Sujeong and Shim Hyemi, who discussed ways to collaborate.

Through this agreement, the two institutions have decided to jointly develop and operate programs, announce joint research results and exchange academic and research personnel, provide student field training, internships, and employment support for professional workforce development, promote industry-academia cooperation projects, and implement public interest programs together.

Silla University, which established the first four-year Department of Companion Animal Science in the Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam region, has been nurturing talent with both technical expertise and psychological and emotional capabilities. Healpet Center, as the nation’s first specialized care service institution for companion animals, has been leading the way in promoting a healthy lifestyle culture for companion animals.

The collaboration between the two organizations is expected to generate significant synergy in developing evidence-based educational models aimed at improving animal welfare and enhancing human-companion animal relationships.

Jang Sujeong and Shim Hyemi, co-CEOs of Healpet Center, stated, "Our partnership with Silla University is an important opportunity to simultaneously strengthen expertise in animal welfare and animal-assisted therapy services, and to cultivate leaders in the companion animal industry. In particular, by developing customized models that reflect regional characteristics, we aim to establish a healthy companion animal lifestyle culture and contribute to building a professional industry ecosystem in the Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam region."

Professor Bae Ilkwon of Silla University’s Department of Companion Animal Science emphasized, "I hope to see academic achievements and practical experience organically combined and expanded into an integrated industry-academia educational model. This agreement also aligns with the department’s transition to the School of Companion Animal Science in 2026, providing students with opportunities to grow as convergent professionals with both field experience and digital capabilities, and laying the foundation for supplying the industry with job-ready talent."