MOU Signed
Daegu Gyeongbuk Free Economic Zone Authority (DGFEZ Authority, Commissioner Do Gun-woo) announced on July 9 that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. on July 8 (local time) to establish a medical school in Daegu.
Attended by Lee Han-gu, member of the National Assembly, who has made efforts to ready systems and secure a budget in a bid to create MediCity Daegu and set up the Comprehensive and Integrative Medical Institute (CIMI) for the last 10 years, DGFEZ Authority Commissioner Do Gun-woo, Georgetown University Medical Center Dean Robert Clark, and CIMI President Sohn Kie-cheul signed the MOU to establish graduate courses, promote educational and research cooperation in the medical sector, push health care provider and patient exchange programs, and activate the medical care industry.
Founded in 1789, Georgetown University is one of the best universities in the world. It offers undergraduate courses in 16 sectors, including law and medicine, and has 1,300 full-time academic staff. The university ranked 20th in the U.S. News annual ranking of America's top colleges in 2014.
CIMI is a foundation set up under the auspices of the government and Daegu City. It has recently completed the construction of an integrative medical center in Daemyeong-dong, Daegu, and is expanding interchange cooperation with Harvard University and Georgetown University, which globally stand out in the integrated medical sector.
Once the branch school of Georgetown University is opened in Suseong Medical District, which is located nearest to the center of the city among other free economic zones in the nation and has a favorable environment in which to settle, Daegu will have a strong advantage to attract students at home and abroad and a golden opportunity to improve the region’s brand power as a MediCity.
Also, it will have a great ripple effect to make a medical breakthrough in the region due to the influx of the best medical technology and talent in the world.
The DGFEZ Authority is planning to visit the related government departments, including the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Ministry of Education, as soon as possible to explain the plan to attract graduate schools, and make every effort to secure financial support from the government.