Seoul – The Korean government has announced a significant investment of 100 billion won (approximately 75 million USD) over the next 10 years to cultivate "National Representative Research Institutes" at universities. This initiative aims to bolster the nation's research competitiveness, foster interdisciplinary collaboration, and empower universities with greater autonomy in research investments.
The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) are jointly spearheading this project, named 'National Research Lab (NRL) 2.0'. The goal is to create leading models of sustainable, large-scale, and convergent research hubs within universities, ultimately enhancing their research capabilities and support systems.
Starting this year, the ministries will select four university-affiliated research institutes annually until 2027. Each selected institute will receive 10 billion won in funding per year for a decade. This substantial financial support will enable the institutes to expand their research staff, upgrade facilities and equipment, and pursue collaborative research projects both domestically and internationally. Importantly, the institutes will have the autonomy to allocate these funds based on their specific strengths and strategic priorities.
The NRL 2.0 project is open to university-affiliated research institutes in science and engineering fields. Both existing institutes and newly established ones are eligible to apply. A comprehensive evaluation process, consisting of preliminary and main assessments, will be conducted to determine the recipients. The evaluation will focus on the institute's research capabilities, development plan, and the university's commitment to nurturing research excellence. The selected institutes will commence their projects in September. To ensure their smooth operation, a consulting team comprising research and university administration experts will provide ongoing support.
These national research institutes will operate as directly affiliated entities under the university headquarters. Their personnel will include a mix of tenured and non-tenured faculty, full-time researchers, administrative staff, equipment engineers, and postdoctoral fellows, forming a robust team capable of undertaking large-scale and convergent research projects.
In addition to this new initiative, the Ministry of Education and MSIT will continue their existing research institute support and group research programs. The Ministry of Education is developing the 'University Research Innovation Project (URI)', which connects 'National Research Institute', 'G-LAMP (University Basic Research Institute Support)', and 'Glocal Lab' to create a tailored support system for universities of varying capacities. MSIT will further refine its customized support system for research projects based on their themes (natural sciences, engineering, medicine, etc.) and scale (small, medium, large).
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