The second session of the Seoul Forum (see page 2) discussed how to manage the cooperation system of universities, industries, and research institutes. As a really “hot potato” of this era, there was a careful discourse on what we should do to transfer scientific innovations from universities to industries. Additionally considered is what the mission is of universities to have desirable interactions with industrial firms.
President Yongmin Kim opened the session with his keynote lecture, emphasizing the awareness of university members on commercialization of basic research is always required. The one who develops these ideas must be a person prepared to work with people from other fields of interest. He explained that more than 95% of valuable research dies out before practical use, and by overcoming ‘The Death Valley’ which lies between academia and industries, scientists can really contribute to the development of human societies.
Mordechai Sheves, Vice President for Technology Transfer, Weizmann Institute of Science, also suggested the necessity of overcoming ‘The Death Valley’. However, his methodology was different from that of President Kim, proposing mediators to be made responsible for transferring technologies. He argued scientists should concentrate on their research. As an example, Weizmann Institute has operated ‘Yeda’, an independent firm in charge of turning the technologies into business projects.
Officials of the discussion panel, especially from industries, commonly requested universities to train human resources valuable to R&D activities of industries. Park Seong-hyun, President of Hyundai-Kia Motors R&D Center, clarified his hope of reforming curriculum to fit in the need of industries and appointing industrial alumni to education. Kim Ki-ho, Head of Samsung Electronics DMC R&D Center, asked universities not to cater to the current trend of research, already being invested by industries, but to concentrate on futuristic research and raise its level.
The flow of this research trend and cooperation with other sectors is very important to research-oriented POSTECH. From the Seoul Forum, it is expected to look at the future of Academy-Industry cooperation, following the new presidency which emphasizes commercialization of research.
