'Industry Ministry-Engineering Deans Regular Council' Launched: "Agreed to Expand University Collaboration Projects"

Sung Yun-mo, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy. (File photo)

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] On the 24th, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy held the inauguration ceremony of the 'Ministry of Industry-Engineering Deans Regular Council' at Lotte Hotel Seoul and decided to expand university cooperation projects.

The council is a regular communication channel between the Ministry and the Korea Council of Engineering Deans, a group of 133 engineering deans representing engineering colleges nationwide. It was established to discover innovative driving forces leading new industries based on voices from the field and to seek mid- to long-term cooperation plans.

At the council meeting, the Ministry announced policies to foster demand-based engineering talent to continuously promote innovation in engineering colleges and decided to expand university cooperation projects, which currently amount to about 570 billion KRW.

First, to promote university autonomy and creativity, support will be expanded to engineering college research institutes with excellent capabilities on a 'research institute' basis rather than on a 'project' basis. The Ministry plans to expand the pilot project for fostering Industrial Technology Hub Centers, currently operated for research institutes at three engineering colleges?Sungkyunkwan University, Yonsei University, and Hanyang University?based on evaluations of industry-academia cooperation outcomes.

To promote the commercialization of accumulated technologies and create a stable research environment, the Ministry will also promote the establishment of a new University Innovation Center (UIC) project, which builds research equipment and testbeds for universities. This aims to provide companies with opportunities to utilize excellent original technologies owned by universities and verify commercialization performance, and to offer laboratory master's and doctoral-level personnel opportunities to operate equipment in high demand by companies, thereby enhancing commercialization convenience and fostering practical engineering talent.

Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Sung Yoon-mo said, "Technological innovation starting in engineering college laboratories has been the seed of change driving our economy and industry. As the school-age population declines and new industries accelerate, changes in engineering education are necessary. Through close communication with engineering colleges, including promoting talent development in new industries and expanding and reorganizing projects reflecting the perspective of demand-side companies, we will actively respond to urgent challenges such as carbon neutrality and digital transformation."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.