Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Bang Moon Kyu met with Stanford University President Richard Saller and other professors in the field of bio and robotics, on November 17 on the occasion of attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit meetings, and discussed measures for expanding the scope of Korea-U.S. cooperation in advanced technologies.

During the meeting, Minister Bang laid out three measures he plans to carry out next year: drastically increase support for international joint R&D (60 percent higher than 2023); fully open Korea’s industrial technology R&D to overseas researchers; and establish a global industrial technology cooperation center in the world’s most prestigious universities and R&D institutes to promote Korean companies’ international joint R&D projects. The minister asked that Stanford University take on the optimal partner position in the two countries’ efforts to expand bilateral technology collaboration by leveraging the university’s world-class R&D capacity recognized across various areas, including artificial intelligence (AI) and bio.

Stanford University leaders agreed to cooperate with Korean companies in the uncovering and planning of joint R&D projects based on the memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed that day with the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology (KIAT), and showed much interest in participating in the plan for establishing global industrial technology cooperation centers.

Another MOU was entered this day between KIAT and the U.S.’ Institute of International Education (IIE) for implementing the exchange program for students majoring in natural sciences and engineering, which was previously agreed on during the Korea-U.S. summit meeting held in April. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) intends to continuously expand bilateral talent exchanges to enable Korea’s natural sciences and engineering students to gain expert knowledge and experience in advanced industrial fields at prominent U.S. universities.

Prior to this meeting, a conference on the Korea-U.S. international joint R&D cooperation in advanced industries was held on November 16, where three MOUs were signed between the Korea Evaluation Institute of Industrial Technology (KEIT) and the U.S.’ MassRobotics (robotics), AMBIC (bio) and Solid Power (battery) in the attendance of approximately 120 experts of both countries’ industries, academia and R&D, followed by discussions on joint R&D project tasks and cooperative models.