South Korea

The Korean Institute for Advancement of Technology (KIAT) is a funding agency under the Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) with the objective of supporting the promotion of industrial technology innovation and the development of related policies. KIAT provides various supporting measures required for the acceleration of innovation in small and medium-sized enterprises. These measures include the commercialization of technologies, the establishment of a platform for the demonstration of research results, the assurance of industrial competitiveness through the enhancement of materials, components and equipment, and the fostering of technological expertise and international cooperation.

Since 2009, KIAT has supported an annual average of 2,318 R&D projects with an annual average budget of 1,077 million euros. For international technology cooperation, KIAT has been a part of Eureka since 2009 and has funded 180 projects. KIAT is also actively extending bilateral R&D cooperation with many countries.

• International joint R&D: As part of the Eureka network, KIAT supports international R&D cooperation through Eureka’s funding programmes.

• Partner search: KIAT can help with the search for project partners within the Eureka and European Enterprise networks.

• Technology commercialisation: KIAT supports SMEs by commercialising their technologies in the market, and facilitating technology transfer between public and private sectors. For this purpose, KIAT manages the National Technology Bank (NTB, www.ntb.kr/eng), so that companies can easily search for technologies and research partners.

• KIAT also supports university research centres and government research institutes in Korea, supporting their collaboration with private enterprises in Korea and overseas.

Joo Suk (Jason) Kang
Director, Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology (KIAT) Europe Office
Belgicastraat 3, 1930 Zaventem, Belgium