South Korea and Canada launched on June 26 that the first-ever joint research and development program for industrial technologies.
The Korea-Canada joint R&D program supports Korean companies to cooperate with Canadian counterparts in the development of industrial technologies, in order to help them enter overseas markets and acquire advanced technologies.
The program will support projects in five fields of common interest including Internet of Things, advanced manufacturing, advanced materials, eco-friendly energy, and healthcare. They are the core areas of the upcoming Fourth Industrial Revolution. Within a three-year period, the government will provide a total of 700 million won to each project.
Park Gun-su director-general for industrial technology policy of Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy(MOTIE) in South Korea said “This joint R&D program holds significance as the first industrial technology development program pursued since the establishment of the institutional framework for bilateral cooperation in science and technology under the “Korea-Canada Science, Technology and Innovation Agreement.”
“We hope this joint program produce concrete outcomes, helping technological cooperation between the two countries further expand.”
Canada is known for the country’s high-level capacity in basic science and innovation. The MOCIE expects the creation of a synergy between Canadian firms’ advanced technologies in biotechnology and energy sectors and Korea’s strengths in information and communications technology and manufacturing.
In December 2016, the two governments signed the Korea-Canada Science, Technology and Innovation Agreement,” and the Ministry has closely consulted the Canadian government to vitalize technological cooperation under the agreement. On June 23, the Korea Institute for Advanced Technology (KIAT) and Canada’s National Research Council (NRC) signed a memorandum of understanding for the joint R&D program.
The KIAT and the NRC will start publicizing the program on June 26 and receive business proposals by September 8 this year. The institutions will evaluate the proposals and consult each other to choose the projects to support in November.
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