Pukyong National University

Pukyong National University Leads Busan-style RISE with ‘Dragon Open UIC’

- UIC Launch Ceremony Held on the 29th; Yongdang Campus to Become a Hub of University-Industry Collaboration

Pukyong National University (President Bae Sang-hoon) has stepped up to lead the core model of Busan’s RISE (Regional Innovation System and Education) initiative through Open UIC (University-Industry Collaboration), focusing on the marine and energy sectors.

On September 29, PKNU’s RISE Project Group held the Dragon Open UIC Launch Ceremony at the Pukyong Convention Hall and declared its two-pronged strategy: ‘Blue UIC’ and ‘Green UIC’.

Busan’s ‘Open UIC’ is a co-growth framework that fosters an innovation-driven regional industrial cluster ecosystem. It enables universities to proactively collaborate with local industries based on demand, under an open and cooperative model.

Pukyong National University’s Dragon Open UIC is a supra-regional cooperation strategy model designed to lead this core initiative of Busan Metropolitan City. The Blue UIC strategy focuses on PKNU’s traditional strength in the fisheries and marine sector, while the Green UIC strategy specializes in the advanced engineering field of energy technology.

The Blue UIC strategy envisions going beyond the traditional fisheries industry to foster marine unicorn companies through the development of smart technologies such as blue food and aquafarms, ultimately aiming to become a global hub for marine innovation.

The Green UIC strategy aims to establish a global energy tech value chain innovation hub through interdisciplinary research in fields such as secondary batteries, power semiconductors, and mobility, in connection with regional cooperation.

Pukyong National University (PKNU) plans to lead interregional cooperation by utilizing the university？industry？research collaboration infrastructure at its Yongdang Campus, commonly referred to as “Dragon Valley,” to realize this strategic model.

Currently, a total of 165 companies and institutions―including those already based in the Yongdang Campus―have agreed to participate in the Dragon Open UIC initiative, with 57 partners in Blue UIC and 108 in Green UIC.

Pukyong National University will establish a Dragon Open UIC Steering Committee, led by its RISE Project Group and joined by industries, local governments, and innovation institutions. This committee will oversee inter-organizational cooperation, joint industry？academia research, professional workforce training, policy coordination, and shared research infrastructure.

President Bae Sang-hoon stated, “The success of Open UIC is crucial to the overall success of the Busan-style RISE initiative. We will make every effort to ensure that Dragon Open UIC becomes the foundation for expansive regional collaboration.” <Pukyong Today>