- UCL launches UK’s first Global Industrial Technology Cooperation Centre (GITCC) in partnership with Korea’s KIAT to drive innovation in sustainable mobility and propulsion systems.
- Centre to focus on hydrogen propulsion and decarbonizing ocean shipping, enabling joint R&D between Korean industry and UCL researchers.
- GITCC to serve as gateway for Korean investment in UK R&D, aligning with Korea’s innovation agenda and boosting international academic-industry ties.
University College London (UCL) has unveiled the UK's first Global Industrial Technology Cooperation Centre (GITCC), in partnership with the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology (KIAT).
The centre will facilitate collaboration on joint research and development between UK and Korean partners in leading-edge propulsion and sustainable mobility technologies.
UCL, a research university in London, will be home to the center within its Innovation & Enterprise division. The GITCC will be a cross-faculty platform led by UCL Faculty of Engineering Sciences. The initiative will facilitate Korean industry, academic, and government collaboration with UCL researchers, to begin with hydrogen propulsion systems and the decarbonization of ocean shipping.
The GITCC aims to act as an entry point for Korean businesses and institutions to leverage UK research facilities and talent. UCL promises to also align the industrial partnerships of the center with Korea's national innovation agenda as well as explore potential collaboration with other UK business organizations and universities.
KIAT Director General Sungjin Baik states, "We are pleased to see UCL hosting the GITCC. I have been most impressed by the leadership of UCL and the vast experience of their personnel in bridging cutting-edge research with real-world impact. Their R&D commercialisation expertise makes UCL an excellent partner to support global innovation and collaboration".
The university's research community will spearhead projects on land, sea, air, and space, focusing on future transportation infrastructure and propulsion technologies. The GITCC will serve as both a forum for collaboration and means of securing future investment by Korean firms in UK-based industrial R&D, the university says.
UCL Vice Provost for Research, Innovation and Global Engagement, Professor Geraint Rees, comments, "UCL's participation in the GITCC is a testament to our dedication to drive and facilitate transformational global research that transcends nations and disciplines, and tackles critical global issues. It is a milestone in international academic-industry partnerships".
Professor Jeom-Kee Paik, Director of the UCL-Korea GITCC and Professor of Marine Technology, comments, "We are delighted to have won the UCL-Korea GITCC. This is the start of an exciting new chapter in UCL's partnership with Korean industry, one based on mutual trust, innovation, and collective ambition. With the strength of UCL's research capabilities and the quality of our world-leading facilities, we are determined to establish the Centre as a world center for collaboration in cutting-edge industrial technologies. We are greatly appreciative of MOTIE and KIAT's trust and support, and we will work tirelessly to make an impact and deliver excellence".