Ministry of SMEs and Startups Selects 9 Industry-Academia-Research Platform Operators to Support Manufacturing and New Industry SMEs

5 Universities and 4 Research Institutes Selected
Up to 4.6 Billion KRW Funding Support by 2024
Customized Full-Cycle Technology Development Support

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwak Minjae] The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 10th that it has selected nine institutions as operating organizations for the ‘Industry-Academia-Research Platform Cooperative Technology Development Project.’

The Ministry selected a total of nine institutions, including five universities?‘Hanseo University,’ ‘Korea Polytechnic University,’ ‘Chosun University,’ ‘Kumoh National Institute of Technology,’ and ‘Changwon National University’?and four research institutes?‘Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials,’ ‘Korea Institute of Materials Science,’ ‘Safety Evaluation Research Institute,’ and ‘Korea Electronics Technology Institute.’

The selected universities and research institutes will receive funding of 3.5 billion KRW and 4.6 billion KRW respectively from 2022 to 2024, and each institution will select and support 20 small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The operating organizations will provide SMEs not only with technical support but also full-cycle commercialization support including demonstration, mass production, and overseas expansion. Through this, they plan to promote technological innovation and enhance competitiveness of SMEs in the manufacturing and new industry sectors.

In the manufacturing process sector, growth of SMEs will be supported through projects such as development of lightweight composite materials and ultra-fine semiconductor processes (Korea Polytechnic University), digital twin-based smart manufacturing advancement (Changwon National University), and creation of a regionally specialized smart manufacturing ecosystem through cooperation with large companies in the Gumi Industrial Complex (Kumoh National Institute of Technology).

Technological capabilities of SMEs will also be supported through projects such as advancement of carbon-neutral core technologies (Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials), support for demonstration and commercialization of key materials to achieve independence in advanced materials technology (Korea Institute of Materials Science), and dissemination and expansion of leading technologies in IT-manufacturing convergence fields such as converged electronic materials, industrial Internet of Things, and next-generation batteries (Korea Electronics Technology Institute).

In the new industry sector, startups and venture companies will receive broad support through projects such as future mobility support including drones and urban air mobility (UAM) based on aviation infrastructure like control towers and runways (Hanseo University), creation of a bio-venture ecosystem linked with industry-academia-research-hospital clusters (Chosun University), and new concept healthcare industry based on artificial intelligence (AI) and big data (Safety Evaluation Research Institute).

The Ministry plans to establish regional and sectoral cooperative networks centered on the operating organizations to discover various cooperation models and promote the spread of achievements, and after the completion of projects, to link various commercialization supports to establish a virtuous cycle system of technology development and commercialization.

SMEs wishing to receive technology and commercialization support from these universities and research institutes can check through the SME Technology Development Project Integrated Management System or inquire via the SME Integrated Call Center.

Won Youngjun, Director of Technology Innovation Policy at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, said, “A technology development support system centered on industry, academia, and research is important to promote technology startups and enhance the technological competitiveness of SMEs,” adding, “We will spare no support to establish a nationwide industry-academia-research technology cooperation support system covering not only manufacturing but also new industry sectors.”

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