On January 8, Moo Young Jung (Vice President for Research Affairs of UNIST), Dr. Frank Henning (Deputy Director of the Fraunhofer ICT), Tae Sung Lee (Ulsan’s Deputy Mayor for Economic), and Tae-hyeon Choi (Director General for Materials and Components Industries at the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy) have signed a cooperative R&D agreement in the field of automotive technologies, which will further intensify educational and scientific collaboration as well as promote international joint research across both countries.
The memorandum also aims to increase collaboration and exchange among students and faculty, as well as to deepen exchange in the field of developing eco-friendly, energy-efficient, and cost-effective automotive products. At the event, the Fraunhofer ICT announced its plans to open its second research center in the City of Ulsan. This new Ulsan branch of Fraunhofer research group will be launched in 2018 and the City of Ulsan will become South Korea’s first supporter of this exciting initiative.
“We are very excited that Fraunhofer ICT has decided to form this partnership with us,” says Moo Young Jung, Vice President for Research Affairs of UNIST. He adds “Our agreement will bring us work together to accelerate the pace of automotive innovation and the rapid advancement of Korea’s automobile industry.”
This project would not have gotten off the ground without the city’s support of land and financial assistance. This new Korean branch of Fraunhofer ICT will receive $19 million USD in funding from the City of Ulsan and the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy for the next five years.
“This partnership will facilitate the exchange of knowledge and expertise among all parties, thereby allowing us to jointly develop new revolutionary applications of composite materials in the field of automotive technology research,” says Prof. Young-Bin Park (School of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering).
This partnership with the Fraunhofer ICT will allow UNIST to take a seat at the cutting edge of innovation in the automotive sector.
