Korean Government Sponsors Leading-Edge, International Research and Commercialization Collaboration: Together, Korean Small-and Medium-Sized Enterprises with a Major U.S. Research University are Pioneering New, Joint Innovations for U.S. Markets

摘要

A pioneering new partnership has been established to enhance the competitiveness of small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by helping them elevate their research and development and penetrate new international markets.The partners are South Korean SMEs,the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology (KIAT),the Ministry of Knowledge Economy (MKE) of Korea,and the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech or GT)—a prominent technology-based research university in Atlanta,Georgia,in the United States.The partnership is called the Global Industry-Academia Cooperation (GIAC) program.The goal of GIAC is for Georgia Tech to assist South Korean SMEs by carrying out collaborative research projects with lofty science and technology goals that,once achieved,could lead to substantive U.S.commercialization opportunities.The partnership began in 2010 and is currently serving five Korean SMEs.Even though this partnership is in its infancy and the first measurable outcomes may still be years away,some early lessons learned and best practices have already been gleaned.This paper describes the motivation for establishing GIAC,outlines the proposal and project selection process,identifies the five SME projects currently underway,and shares metrics to evaluate the success of the partnership.