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February 04, 2009
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| The government will set aside 40 billion won ($28.8 million) this year to help establish a global research-education campus at the Incheon free economic zone. The campus is set to open in 2010 in Songdo, about 40 kilometers west of Seoul, and will be composed of between four and 10 local and foreign universities that will pool resources to conduct research and educate students in cutting-edge technologies, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said. It said at present, the State University of New York at Stony Brook has agreed to establish a college at the campus, while North Carolina State University is close to signing a similar contract. Local universities like Yonsei and Inha are currently negotiating with foreign schools to come to the campus. Talks are under way with Britain’s Surrey University and Delaware States University, while the Salk Institute, a U.S.-based laboratory, set up a Joint Center for Biology at Songdo late last year. “Initially the campus will house 3,000 students and researchers, but will be built up in the next five years to cover 297,000 square meters and house 10,000 students,” a ministry official said, adding that the educational and research focus will be centered on the information technology and biotech areas. The official said that schools want to attract students not only from Korea but also from other Asian countries. Seoul said it plans to use 9.6 billion won of the total set aside to provide incentives to schools that include initial operating costs and funds needed to open schools. The ministry in charge of the country’s industrial policy and the FEZs said the 40 billion won earmarked for this year is a sharp increase from 5 billion won set aside to attract the participation of foreign schools in 2008. Yonhap |
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