PAJU — The first-year results of the Anchor program, a revamped version of the Regional Innovation System and Education (RISE) initiative, have been released. Anchor is a new attempt focused on shared growth between regions and universities and on training talent for the future.
Gyeonggi Province and the Gyeonggi Anchor Center, part of the Gyeonggido Business and Science Accelerator, held the Gyeonggi Anchor Performance and Innovation Forum at the Novotel Ambassador in Suwon on the 8th, sharing the results of a first-year self-assessment with 67 universities taking part in the program in the province.
The forum was held under the theme "Connect & Leap: Linking Results, Opening Regional Innovation," with the aim of sharing the first-year self-assessment findings with the 67 participating universities and applying them on each campus. About 200 people attended, including Kim Tae-hyung, chair of the Gyeonggi Provincial Council's Future Science and Cooperation Committee, officials from the province and the Gyeonggi Anchor Center, project directors and staff from participating universities, and officials from cities and counties in the province.
The program consisted of a presentation of first-year results, an outline of the Gyeonggi Anchor Center's plans for the second half of the year, presentations of leading cases by category, and a panel discussion on upgrading signature projects.
In the opening session, the Gyeonggi Anchor Center reviewed the main results and leading cases of its four core projects based on its self-assessment analysis. It also laid out difficulties that many universities had encountered in common, along with directions for improvement, and presented second-half plans reflecting them.
Five universities then presented their results and experiences from the field. Sungkyunkwan University introduced an upgrade of its industry-academia alliance in quantum technology, while Yeonsung University presented a case study of industry-academia cooperation based on a regional cluster. Kyungmin University presented a lifelong education model linking learning to job growth and regional innovation, Kyung Hee University an energy infrastructure convergence center for mega-regional industry-academia-research cooperation, and Pyeongtaek University a project to improve living conditions for residents with migrant backgrounds.
The panel discussion focused on how to upgrade signature projects. The Gyeonggi Anchor Center, participating universities and outside experts discussed ways to develop the program in its second year. Attendees exchanged views on spreading results achieved at individual universities across the region and raising the overall quality of the program.
A special exhibition at the venue presented the past year's achievements under the theme "One Year of Gyeonggi Anchor, Nine Changes." It was designed to show in one place the changes running from universities to talent, industry and regions.
"Through this forum, we will spread strong results and voices from the field to all participating universities and develop a Gyeonggi-style university-region innovation model," said Heo Wan, head of the Gyeonggi Anchor Center.
