Our university stated on Thursday 11th that it had been selected as the final choice for the second-phase program of a Leaders in INdustry-university Cooperation + (LINC+) announced by the Ministry of Education on Wednesday 10th.

The Ministry of Education and the Korea Research Foundation announced a total of 75 universities promoting the second-phase program of the "LINC+" project, which will run from 2019 to 2021.

The LINC+ business aims to induce co-prosperity between universities and local communities by exploring and promoting various industry–academic cooperation models based on university conditions and characteristics.

Although our university had to go through a second round of evaluation, it was listed on the final list after fierce competition with leading universities such as Seoul National University, Yonsei University, and Korea University. In the Seoul Metropolitan Area, 11 schools were selected for the industry–academic cooperation models along with Sungkyunkwan University, Hanyang University, and Chung-Ang University. Additionally, five schools, including Gachon University, were selected for the social-tailored department-occupancy models. In particular, industry–academic cooperation is a track that supports the development of talented people who are highly workplace-adaptable and regional (industrial) competitiveness by discovering various industry–academic cooperation models and spreading industry-linked curricula that meet the demand for new industries.

Meanwhile, in a dramatic turn of events, our university was seen to have been selected through achieving excellent performance in terms of vision, business composition, and efficiency during the document and presentation screening. In addition, it has been reported that Lee Eui-soo, the head of LINC+ Business Group; Lim Eui-woon, the head of the Industrial–Academic Human Resources Development Center; Cho Kyung-eun, the head of the Center for Corporate and IT Specialization; and Park Hyuk-sang, the head of the LINC+ Administration Support Division, played a major role in our school’s selection for the project.

Through the project, the university will receive an annual 3.7 billion KRW (approximately 11 billion KRW over three years) in national funding until 2021. It will be used for employment, startups, and programs to strengthen the career capabilities of students linked to the industry and other communities.

"Based on the achievements we have made in carrying out this project over the past 10 years and our strong performance, we received this assessment as best we can," said Yoon Sung-yee, president of the university. "We will make efforts to further upgrade the industry–academic cooperation program so that students can become more competitive."