A ceremony was held on November 23 to celebrate the installation of the official signboard for the new Graduate School of Science and Technology Policy (GSSTP) at Ajou University. The GSSTP, developed with the help of the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT), was established to provide postgraduate programs in science and technology policy; the institution operates in only a few select schools that were chosen by the Ministry in July.

The ceremony also saw the signing of a partnership agreement between the GSSTP and the Korea Institute for Research and Development (KIRD), promoting the exchange of information and research collaboration on science and technology policy. KIRD is responsible for running the MSIT’s GSSTP program.

The ceremony, held at the Yulgok Hall, was attended by all involved key officials, including the University’s President Park Hyung-ju; Oh Yeong-tae, Vice President for Industry-Academia Cooperation; Lee Joo-yeon, Professor of Industrial Engineering and head of the New Industrial Technology Center; and Park Gwi-chan and Lee Bong-rak, president and senior officer, respectively, of KIRD.

The two parties have agreed to organize joint academic events and research projects; to share and expand networks of relations in Korea and worldwide; to jointly develop career development and training programs for scientists and engineers; and to share information on science and technology policy experts.

University President Park remarked, “KIRD is developing human resources capable of managing the rapid innovations in science and technology of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. I expect this latest partnership to contribute to the development of science and technology policy experts commanding global research and supporting think tanks.”

KIRD President Park also commented, “I wish this partnership of ours to enable us to exchange our knowledge on human resource development so that we can contribute to the development of core talents for the future of science and technology in Korea.”

After signing the partnership agreement, the officials moved to the Yeonam Hall to observe the GSSTP’s new signboard being mounted.

The GSSTP is an initiative of the MSIT through which the Ministry supports the establishment and operation of postgraduate degree programs for future policy experts who are equipped with not only knowledge of science and technology, but with interdisciplinary knowledge and skills. Having been chosen in July along with Seoul National University to run the program, Ajou will receive a budget of up to KRW 1.7 billion over the next six years to operate the graduate school.

The MSIT has supported the GSSTP since 2011. During the first term (2011-2017), three schools--Hanyang University, the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, and the University of Science and Technology participated; ifor the second term (2016-2023), in addition to from Seoul National University and Ajou, Chungnam and Pukyong National Universities are also taking part.

Ajou will begin to recruit candidates for the master’s, doctorate, and integrated postgraduate degree programs at GSSTP in the spring semester of next year. Prof. Lee Joo-yeon will oversee the process. The new graduate school will have ten departments with 20 full-time professors as well as over 30 science and technology policy experts, including researchers from government-funded and private research institutions.

As part of the new graduate school’s activities, Ajou will foster research collaboration between universities worldwide, effectively utilize clusters and ecosystems for local industrial-academic collaboration, and plan the establishment of a think tank-type policy research center.