To Sharpen Competitiveness of Local Firms
The government of North Gyeongsang Province has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Israel's Weizmann Institute of Science for technology transfer to local companies and global sales of the commercialized technologies.
A signing ceremony was held at Shilla Hotel in Seoul on Oct. 11 with the attendance of Lee Cheol-woo, governor of North Gyeongsang Province, and Mordechai Sheves, vice president of the Israeli institute, and Lee Jae-won, president of Yozma Group's Korea operations.
Israel's Weizman Institute of Science is a scientific research institute founded in 1934 by Chaim Weizmann, the first president of Israel, and it is regarded as one of the world's top five science institutes, along with Germany's Max Planck and France's Pasteur. It has produced three Nobel Prize winners and two Israeli presidents.
Currently 270 research groups are carrying out more than 1,200 research projects each year. In particular, the institute has established Yeda Research and Development Company Ltd. to promote exports of its technologies. The institute’s technologies have thus far been exported to 73 companies around the world, with annual sales of products commercialized using its technologies amounting to $28 billion (32 trillion won).
North Gyeongsang Province hopes the MOU will help local companies tap into the institute’s latest research results in the fields of biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, and computer science.
It also hopes Yeda’s expertise in technology transfer and commercialization will help local companies acquire the institute’s technologies, advance into global markets and grow into small but strong companies with global competitiveness.
It is also planning to establish a branch of Yeda within the Yozma Startup Campus in North Gyeongsang Province that opened in April this year, and develop joint projects to attract investment from venture capital companies.
"In order to lead the Fourth Industrial Revolution, international cooperation along with technological innovation is paramount," said Governor Lee. “We will ensure that the MOU with the Weizmann Institute of Science helps local companies improve technological prowess and advance into global markets, creating jobs and contributing to the local economy in the process.”