Gov't encourages R&D collaboration with EU

By Yoon Sung-won

Korea is stepping up support for researchers who seek cooperation with European countries, according to the National Research Foundation (NRF), Wednesday.

The foundation is hosting a two-day R&D fair between Korea and the European Union (EU) in Seoul and Daejeon which started yesterday.

“We have continued to push for collaborations between researchers in Korea and Europe to meet the rising demand for cooperation in the last decade,” NRF Secretary General Kim Jun-dong said during his opening speech of the event in Seoul, Wednesday.

“On the government level, the two parties have organized five meetings as of 2015 geared toward boosting cooperation in information, communication, nano, bio and energy technologies.”

Kim added the sixth meeting is scheduled to be held in the latter half of this year.

Alongside science and technology researchers, domestic and foreign funding agencies, officials from the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology, EU delegation to Korea and representatives of European embassies have joined the event.

The NRF said the event mainly aims at promoting awareness on cooperative R&D programs between Korea and the EU such as Horizon 2020, an EU funding program for innovative research projects.

The fair also seeks to build networks between researchers in Korea and Europe in selected areas such as information, communication, bio and energy technologies. The agenda was discussed during governmental talks between Korea and the EU in 2014.

“We expect the fair will provide researchers here with actual help in establishing contact with their European counterparts and building a consortium for projects,” an NRF official said.

The NRF is headed by President Cho Moo-je, who took charge of the state-backed institute midway through last year.

“As a trusted partner for researchers and the public, the NRF is committed to establishing a researcher-friendly support system that helps researchers achieve more successful outcomes and accelerate the emergence of a creative economy,” he said.

“Furthermore, the NRF is blazing new paths through which researchers can expand their prospects in the world and fuel our ongoing growth towards a future society in an effort to realize a more prosperous tomorrow for both research and the nation.”