Busan City Holds This Year's 'University and Local Talent Development Support Council' Meeting

Regional University Crisis Joint Response and Locally Led Support System

Government Promotes 'Regional Innovation-Centered University Support System (RISE)'

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Dongguk Lee] On the 16th at 3:30 PM, Busan City will hold a meeting of the ‘Busan Metropolitan City University and Local Talent Development Support Council (hereinafter referred to as the Council)’ at the first-floor conference room of City Hall, attended by the Office of Education, local universities, the business community, and innovation institutions.

The meeting will be held with the attendance of Mayor Park Hyung-jun, Superintendent Ha Yun-su, presidents of 21 local universities, as well as related organizations such as the Chamber of Commerce, the Federation of Employers, Technopark, the Institute of Industrial Science and Innovation, and the Lifelong Talent Education Promotion Institute, to discuss response measures and future operational directions following the 2023 government announcement of the higher education innovation strategy.

Member of the Busan Metropolitan City University and Local Talent Development Support Council.

The impact of the decline in the school-age population, including the under-enrollment of new students this year, has already become a reality, and there are concerns that this crisis will accelerate further. In response, the government has selected educational innovation as one of the three major innovation tasks and declared 2023 as the inaugural year of educational innovation.

Of particular note is the higher education sector, where the government announced the establishment of the ‘Regional Innovation System & Education (RISE)’?a regional innovation-centered university support system that boldly transfers administrative and financial authority for university support to local governments and strengthens regional autonomy and responsibility.

Following the Ministry of Education’s work report in January and the first Talent Development Strategy Meeting chaired by the President in February, ‘RISE’ aims to shift to a region-led university support paradigm by expanding financial support for local universities, innovating higher education regulations, and enhancing the role of local governments.

Before full implementation in 2025, the government plans to designate and operate pilot regions for two years starting this year to establish successful models and expand them nationwide.

The main agenda of today’s meeting is the participation in the ‘RISE’ pilot region. Busan City intends to actively participate as a pilot region to learn first, present a successful model, secure an advantage in future government support, and propose and preempt various regional development innovation projects.

If selected as a ‘RISE’ pilot region, Busan will collaborate with the Ministry of Education to jointly plan specific project models, sign an agreement with the Ministry around July this year, and announce mid- to long-term plans.

During the pilot period, Busan will receive know-how from the government on planning and evaluating university financial support projects, be designated as a higher education regulation-specialized area, and receive regulatory exemptions. The pilot region will also gain advantages in securing project funds, such as additional points for attracting major government financial support projects.

In particular, Busan plans to jointly respond with local universities according to the government’s public recruitment schedule this year for projects such as the ‘Local Government-University Cooperation-Based Regional Innovation Project (RIS)’, ‘Local Government-Led Cooperation System Activation Project’, and ‘Glocal University Development and Support’.

Mayor Park Hyung-jun stated, “Since autonomy comes with responsibility, the RISE system is a bold challenge, and its results will vary depending on the region’s innovation will and capabilities. Busan has already realized a successful model of regional development through industry-academia cooperation by establishing and operating the nation’s first Industry-Academia Cooperation Center and building 52 branches. We will lead the creation of an innovation model that integrates and connects the capabilities and infrastructure of Busan’s universities and companies to compete with the metropolitan area.”

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