Pukyong National University

Pukyong National University Unveils ‘Moonshot’ Project with Significant Investment in Response to Busan-Style RISE Initiative

-The First Major Move to Respond to the RISE Initiative Among Universities in Busan

-1.1 Billion Won Invested in Two Innovation Projects Focused on Cultivating Unicorn Companies and Addressing Regional Issues

Pukyong National University (President Bae Sang-hoon) is launching a large-scale “PKNU Moonshot” project in response to the upcoming Regional Innovation System and Education (RISE) initiative, which will officially be implemented this year.

Recently, the city of Busan established the basic plan for the Busan-type RISE project, outlining a framework for mutual growth between universities and the local community. In line with this, Pukyong National University is the first among universities in Busan to take proactive steps, signaling the start of this initiative.

The university will focus on two key areas in its “Moonshot” project: fostering unicorn companies in the five major future industries of Busan and solving local challenges through interdisciplinary research in the humanities and social sciences. The term “Moonshot” refers to bold, innovative challenges, much like the launch of space missions.

Pukyong National University has allocated up to 1.1 billion KRW for this project. It is unprecedented in both the region and nationwide for a university to support a single project with more than 1 billion KRW in research funding from its own budget. Since his inauguration last month, President Bae Sang-hoon has placed this project at the forefront of the university’s core initiatives and promised full support.

In the first phase of the project, the university will focus on supporting joint research between companies and the university to foster unicorn companies in Busan’s five major future industries: power semiconductors, secondary batteries, future aviation, digital finance, and digital healthcare.

A unicorn company refers to a startup valued at over 1 trillion KRW. The plan is to commercialize innovative technologies in these cutting-edge industries from university research labs with global competitiveness, with the goal of cultivating world-class unicorn companies in the region.

To achieve this, five research groups will be selected for each of the five fields, and a total of 900 million KRW will be allocated for joint technology development research over 1 to 2 years. The university plans to establish a collaboration system between growing companies and the university, fostering mutual growth.

Research groups consisting of more than five professors from at least two departments will join forces with participating companies to conduct research. Patent applications and technology transfers will also be pursued jointly. In addition, the university plans to help companies establish themselves in the region by setting up corporate research institutes on campus, with the goal of relocating the headquarters of participating companies to the campus and incorporating them as subsidiaries of the university’s technology holding company. To facilitate this, the university will open the Yongdang Campus, which is being developed into a cutting-edge industrial complex under the Campus Innovation Park project, to participating companies.

In the second phase, focused on the humanities and social sciences, the university will leverage its expertise in these fields to address various regional issues. A total of 10 groups will be selected to conduct interdisciplinary joint research in the humanities, social sciences, and arts. Each group will receive 20 million KRW, for a total of 200 million KRW, to enhance research capabilities and contribute to the development of the local community.

It is an exceptional case that more than 10 million KRW in research funding will be provided to the humanities and social sciences field. This demonstrates the university’s commitment to not only focusing on new industries but also ensuring that traditional humanities are not neglected, in the spirit of fostering mutual growth with the region.

After conducting surveys and gathering opinions, Pukyong National University plans to officially launch the project proposal process starting in March.

President Bae Sang-hoon expressed, “This project aims to focus on nurturing companies that will drive future regional growth using the university’s cutting-edge technology, while also becoming a representative case for solving various regional issues based on the humanities and achieving balanced academic development.” He also stated, “As a national university, we will do our best to grow alongside regional stakeholders and contribute to mutual development.” <Pukyong Today>