A one-stop platform for technology commercialization, from introducing digital healthcare technologies in Sejong’s future strategic industries to investment attraction and technology transfer strategies.

On February 4, the Sejong Research and Business Cooperation Foundation of Korea University Sejong Campus held the ‘Pharmaceutical, Bio, and Digital Healthcare Festival’ at the Jochiwon 1927 Art Center.

The event was jointly hosted by the Korea University Sejong Research and Business Cooperation Foundation and the Sejong RISE Project Group and was organized as part of the RISE initiative promoted by the Ministry of Education and the Sejong City.

Held under the subtitle, ‘A One-Stop Platform for Technology Commercialization from Introducing Digital Healthcare in Sejong’s Future Strategic Industries to Investment Attraction and Technology Transfer Strategies,’ the festival featured an integrated program linking presentations of the university’s core research outcomes, seminars on corporate support programs, investment briefings and consultations, one-on-one technology transfer consultations, and technology exhibitions.

Through the operation of the program, the festival generated tangible research and business cooperation outcomes by directly connecting outstanding technologies and capabilities from research sites with the industrial field. A representative achievement was the signing of a technology transfer Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Korea University Sejong Research and Business Cooperation Foundation and Seobi Co., Ltd.

This agreement is a meaningful outcome that visualizes the transfer of university-held technologies to the industrial field while promoting technology commercialization and innovative growth based on cooperation between local companies and the university. It also contributes to strengthening regional industrial competitiveness, technological innovation, and sustainable regional development.

The event was attended by approximately 80 participants from 66 companies, including researchers from Korea University Sejong Campus, regional technology commercialization innovation institutions, and representatives of demand-driven companies. Eight promising commercialization technologies in the fields of pharmaceuticals, bio, and digital healthcare derived from eight university research laboratories were intensively introduced.

Key technologies presented included: An EEG-based personalized transcranial electrical stimulation cognitive enhancement solution (Professor Hwang Hanjung, Department of Electronics and Information Engineering), a novel alkyne ketone derivative pharmaceutical composition for the prevention and treatment of bacterial infectious diseases with biofilm-blocking properties (Professor Byun Youngjoo, College of Pharmacy), a natural-material-based antiviral composition extracted from Ardisia japonica for multi-influenza inhibition (Professor Lee Hyera, Department of Bioinformatics), scaffold-expanded nano multi-platform-based vaccine and new drug development technology (Professor Kim Kyunghyun, Department of Bioinformatics), a marine-derived antibacterial biosilica peptide composition based on room-temperature, atmospheric-pressure, and neutral processes (Professor Baek Seungpil, Department of Bioinformatics). These innovative research outcomes are expected to lead future markets in digital healthcare and precision medicine.

In subsequent sessions, the Korea Health Industry Development Institute and the Sejong Technopark introduced technology valuation in the healthcare and digital healthcare sectors, as well as support programs for fostering regional innovation clusters. Major venture capital firms, including ID Ventures, KB Investment, and Y&Archer, also participated to conduct investment consultations for companies. One-on-one customized meetings between researchers and companies further specified the potential for follow-up cooperation.

Choi Dooho, Director of the Korea University Sejong Research and Business Cooperation Foundation, stated, “This festival served as a venue for practical cooperation connecting demand-driven companies and researchers. We will continue to strengthen the development of region-based pharmaceutical, bio, and digital healthcare industries and the technology commercialization ecosystem.”

Relatedly, the event is significant in that it provided an opportunity to link the university’s research capabilities with the regional industrial field through the RISE project, contributing to the development of the digital healthcare industry in the Sejong region and the revitalization of the local economy.