TIPA Announces Innovation Achievements of SME Excellent R&D Innovative Product Designation System

Lee Jae-hong, Director of TIPA, visiting a small and medium-sized enterprise site and receiving an explanation from an official.
[Photo by Asia Economy DB]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jong-hwa] The Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Technology and Information Promotion Agency for SMEs (TIPA) are participating in the online exhibition of the 2021 Government Innovation Expo, where the 'Excellent R&D Innovative Product Designation System,' operated to support the initial market entry of innovative products from small and medium ventures, has been selected as an 'Innovation Case.'

According to TIPA on the 3rd, the '2021 Government Innovation Expo' is an event that shares the government's achievements so far, promised to the public, through various citizen participation programs such as exhibitions, videos, and side events, and presents new goals to communicate with the public. This event, held for the third time since the current government took office, comprehensively reviews the government's innovation achievements over the past four and a half years, shares innovation cases with the public, and proposes new directions for government innovation.

The expo will be held for 10 days from today until the 12th, and considering the COVID-19 situation, it will be operated mainly through an online exhibition hall on the webpage and a metaverse exhibition hall implemented with three-dimensional (3D) graphics in a virtual space.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups and TIPA are participating in the exhibition under the theme of 'Improving Public Service Quality through the Introduction of Innovative Products,' introducing the 'Excellent R&D Innovative Product Designation System.' This system, introduced last year, supports innovative public service improvements and the growth and coexistence of SMEs by having the public sector purchase and apply innovative products developed based on SME technology development (R&D) projects.

Since the system's introduction, 162 innovative products in various fields such as medical, safety, and energy environment have been selected, recording approximately 55.1 billion KRW in public sales (as of the end of September 2021), and have been applied in 124 local governments, 26 central agencies, and 69 public institutions, contributing to the improvement of public service quality.

In the exhibition hall, to enhance public empathy and understanding of innovative products, visitors can watch story-centered videos introducing the innovative product system as well as case videos of innovative products actually applied in the public sector. Additionally, the metaverse exhibition hall features a real-time consultation function, enabling one-on-one face-to-face chat consultations with the person in charge of innovative products in the virtual world.

Lee Jae-hong, Director of TIPA, said, "The Excellent R&D Innovative Product Designation System is a good system that provides SMEs and ventures with opportunities to secure initial markets," adding, "Through participation in the 2021 Innovation Expo, we will promote this system to the public and strive to continuously select excellent innovative products so that they can be applied in various public service fields."

The expo is operated with a total of five exhibition halls, and innovative products are introduced in the 'Together Korea' exhibition hall. Participation in the event is accessible through the 2021 Government Innovation Expo website, and for the metaverse exhibition hall, membership registration and metaverse program download are required.

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