Dankook University Cheonan and Pukyong National University Selected as Candidate Sites for Campus Innovation Park Project

Dankook University Cheonan Campus and Pukyong National University have been selected as new candidates for the 2023 Campus Innovation Park project.

Dankook University (Cheonan) Campus Innovation Park Master Plan / Image provided by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 18th that they have finalized these two universities after conducting document reviews, on-site inspections, and presentation evaluations of 17 universities that submitted proposals for this year's project. The evaluation was conducted by a committee of nine private experts specializing in industrial location, industry-academia cooperation, startup and business development, among other fields.

This project aims to transform university idle land into urban high-tech industrial complexes and establish corporate occupancy spaces (industry-academia-research innovation hubs) to build a university-centered innovation ecosystem. It is a joint project by three government ministries to strengthen industry-academia-research cooperation and link and utilize business capacity-building initiatives.

So far, through three rounds of public competitions, seven universities have been selected as project targets: Gangwon University, Hannam University, and Hanyang University ERICA in 2019; Kyungpook National University and Chonnam National University in 2021; and Jeonbuk National University and Changwon National University in 2022. Among these, five universities selected in the first and second rounds have completed designation as urban high-tech industrial complexes.

Dankook University Cheonan Campus and Pukyong National University reportedly received high evaluations in terms of favorable accessibility including surrounding transportation conditions, excellent industry-academia cooperation performance, and potential support for startup companies, amid a competition ratio of 8.5 to 1.

Dankook University Cheonan Campus plans to invest approximately 53.6 billion KRW by 2027 to develop an industrial complex specializing in advanced parts and materials and biohealthcare on a 21,450㎡ site. Pukyong National University will establish an industrial complex related to intelligent marine fisheries, power semiconductors, and intelligent healthcare on an 18,000㎡ site by 2028, with a project budget of about 53 billion KRW. Each university and public institutions will participate as joint project implementers, initiate the industrial complex planning, and aim to have the sites designated as urban high-tech industrial complexes by the second half of next year.

A government official stated, "The Campus Innovation Park project is designed to create industrial complexes concentrated with advanced industries in locations preferred by young people, establishing an ecosystem where people and industries gather," adding, "The three ministries will actively collaborate to support universities in becoming innovation hubs within their regions."

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