15 advanced bio global joint research centers selected… Collaboration with North America and Europe
Support for building a sustainable research cooperation platform… Research on synthetic biology, new drugs, etc.
Fifteen ‘global joint research centers’ where domestic researchers and world-class research institutes in North America, Europe, and Asia conduct joint research in the cutting-edge bio field were finally selected. The government decided to provide a total of 24.5 billion won over three years to these research centers.
The Ministry of Science and ICT announced on the 24th that it will select 15 research projects for the ‘Advanced Bio Global Joint Research Center Construction Project’ and begin full-scale support in order to establish a foundation for sustainable research cooperation with the world’s top research institutions in the advanced bio field.
The project to build a global joint research center for advanced bio is a project that implements agreements on R&D (research and development) cooperation in the advanced bio field between countries and supports the creation of a foundation for sustainable cooperation with overseas excellent research institutes in the advanced bio field.
It is expected to strengthen the capabilities of domestic research institutes and serve as a stepping stone for them to become world-class research institutes through joint research with world-class research institutes and continuous exchanges between researchers.
In order to diversify the targets of global research cooperation and promote research cooperation with various countries, the Ministry of Science and ICT conducted an open contest from August 20 to September 19 by dividing it into four regions: North America, the United Kingdom, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. . As a result of the contest, a total of 56 research projects were applied for, recording a competition rate of 3.7 to 1.
The Ministry of Science and ICT finally selected 15 joint research centers by comprehensively considering the necessity and innovation of global joint research, research and development capabilities, and follow-up cooperation plans after project completion. As an MOU between collaborating organizations or a letter of support from the organization has been designated as a mandatory submission requirement, it is expected that practical cooperation at the institution level will proceed.
Looking at the global joint research centers selected this time, in the case of the Korea-North America Global Joint Research Center, three centers were selected, including the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) and Stanford University in the United States, to establish a biofoundry and produce bio-manufactured raw drug substances. We plan to conduct joint research.
In the case of the Korea-England Global Joint Research Center, five centers were selected. We plan to collaborate with the University of Cambridge and Imperial College London in the UK in the fields of advanced new drugs and synthetic biology.
Four centers will be selected for the Korea-EU Global Joint Research Center, and two centers will be selected for the Korea-Asia-Oceania Global Joint Research Center, which will strengthen international cooperation in the advanced biotechnology field with the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) and the University of Tokyo, Japan.
In addition, to support the smooth conduct of research by regional global joint research centers, the Daegu Gyeongbuk Advanced Medical Industry Promotion Foundation was selected as the overall management, operation, and support center.
The selected institutions will carry out practical collaborative R&D with leading overseas research institutes, such as ▲ developing core technologies in the cutting-edge bio field based on joint research, ▲ exchanging domestic and foreign research personnel, and ▲ holding expert cooperation networking programs. The Ministry of Science and ICT plans to provide a total of 24.5 billion won to 15 joint research centers over three years from this year to 2026.
Kwon Hyun-joon, Director of Basic Source Research Policy at the Ministry of Science and ICT, said, “Innovative research results in the field of advanced biotechnology were mainly derived through global joint research.” He added, “The institutions selected for this project are leading the way through strategic R&D cooperation and continuous exchange with leading global research institutes.” “We will actively provide support to create high-quality research results,” he said.
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