5.053 Trillion Won Investment in Science and Technology Talent Development This Year

National Science and Technology Advisory Council Approves Four Agendas Including the 4th Basic Plan for National Technology Talent Development Support

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] The government will invest a total of 5.053 trillion KRW this year to nurture science and technology talent. It will also spend 173.6 billion KRW, about 10% more than last year, to foster women scientists and technologists, and will initiate the creation of a Hall of Fame to honor contributors to science and technology.

The Presidential Advisory Council on Science and Technology held a special committee meeting on future talent on the afternoon of the 29th and finalized four agenda items, including the 4th Basic Plan for Nurturing and Supporting National Technology Talent (2021?2025) and the 2021 implementation plan.

According to the plan, the Ministry of Science and ICT and related ministries will invest a total of 5.053 trillion KRW this year to nurture and support science and technology talent. Specifically, under the goal of establishing intelligent science labs in all schools by 2024, 25 schools will be designated as model schools this year to renovate their science labs based on advanced technology. The number of AI-leading schools will more than double from 247 last year to 566 this year. Policies such as preparing innovation plans for science and engineering universities, supporting salaries for about 200 postdoctoral researchers through the new Sejong Science Fellowship, and applying special industrial accident insurance for about 110,000 university student researchers in case of accidents will also be implemented.

To support the activities of women and highly experienced scientists and technologists, a professional learning portal ('Alpha (α)-Campus') will be established within the year, and a new online platform to support the life-cycle growth of women scientists and technologists will be launched. The 'Brain Pool' project will be promoted to attract 300 outstanding overseas scientists, and new statistical surveys such as a comprehensive survey of science and engineering graduate schools will be conducted.

Support and recognition for contributors to science and technology will also be strengthened. This year, guidelines for honoring contributors to science and technology will be established, a Hall of Fame for scientists and technologists will be created, and a second support plan will be developed to replace the '1st Plan for Honoring and Supporting Contributors to Science and Technology' implemented from 2017 to this year.

The plan for fostering and supporting women in science and technology has also been finalized. This year, the government will invest a total of 173.6 billion KRW, an increase of 15.7 billion KRW from last year, through eight ministries and 17 local governments. Specifically, 93.9 billion KRW for research and development, 33.6 billion KRW for employment and startup support, 20 billion KRW for science and technology major experience, education, and scholarships, and 10.8 billion KRW for career development. Industrial technology field experience programs will be provided to 1,500 women in science and engineering, 566 AI education leading schools will be designated, and mentoring and employment competency training will be supported for 32,000 female students.

To enhance the capabilities of women scientists and technologists, support will be provided to expand participation in R&D projects, form 25 technology-based startup exploration teams, and strengthen networking for international joint cooperative research projects. New online platform services (W-Bridge) for life-cycle growth support, career development support such as new industry and new technology education, are also planned. To promote the spread of gender innovation analysis research in national R&D projects, three specialized training programs will be developed and 30 education experts will be trained.

Kim Sung-soo, Director of the Science and Technology Innovation Headquarters at the Ministry of Science and ICT, said, "In this era of great transformation, nurturing and securing talent to enhance national science and technology competitiveness is truly important," and urged, "Related ministries should make every effort to ensure that the implementation tasks are properly carried out."

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