Pukyong National University Launches Smart Aquaculture Industry-Academia Partnership with Busan-Based "Baby Unicorn" AD Susan

Pukyong National University and AD Susan Join Forces
Driving Innovation in Smart Aquaculture and Regional Industry Growth

On August 12, Pukyong National University (President Sanghoon Bae) and AD Susan (CEO Dohyun Lee) signed an agreement for industry-academia cooperation, including technology development and joint research in the field of smart aquaculture.

President Sanghoon Bae (right) and CEO Dohyun Lee are taking a commemorative photo after the agreement. Photo by National Pukyong University

With Pukyong National University, a leader in fisheries science and the marine industry, joining forces with AD Susan, an eco-friendly smart shrimp farming company that recently relocated to Busan, expectations are high that they will drive the future of the regional aquaculture industry.

AD Susan has attracted attention as the first company in Korea's aquaculture industry to export smart aquafarm plants. In May, it was also selected as a "Baby Unicorn" (emerging giant startup) by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups-an honor rarely seen in the fisheries sector.

Furthermore, in order to secure professional research talent, AD Susan recently moved its headquarters from Seoul to Busan and has begun full-scale efforts with Pukyong National University in research and development (R&D) and the training of specialists.

Through this agreement, the two organizations plan to cooperate in the following areas: joint development and demonstration research of smart aquaculture technologies; operation of field training and internship programs linked to industry and academia; joint planning and execution of government R&D projects in the smart fisheries sector; and support for undergraduate and graduate student research activities using AD Susan's facilities.

Pukyong National University is equipped with an Aquaculture Systems Laboratory, a Smart Aquaculture Cluster, and a Smart Aquaculture Big Data Center. The university is currently leading a large-scale national project in the "blue food" sector-a sustainable future growth industry designated by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. For this reason, the synergy from industry-academia cooperation with AD Susan is expected to be maximized.

In particular, with the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries set to relocate to Busan, both organizations have agreed to actively leverage their expertise to promote various collaborative projects, including the establishment of a government-industry-academia-research cooperation system for the development of the Busan local community.

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