Five regional software and digital companies engaged in over 35 consultations with international businesses, universities, and research institutions during a recent R&D collaboration event. The government plans to provide follow-up support to help these companies secure funding and select international joint R&D projects based on the ideas and discussions generated.
The Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology (KIAT) announced on September 21 that it supported domestic software companies in discovering international R&D partners at the 'ITEA PO Days 2026' event held in Istanbul, Turkey, from September 15 to 17.
The participating companies included H-Medic Gear (Pohang), Total Soft Bank (Busan), Cross Hub (Jeonju), Ad (Daejeon), and Globe Point (Goyang). These firms possess software and digital technologies related to their regional industries and growth engines.
ITEA operates as a software R&D cluster under the EUREKA program, an international R&D cooperation platform. It supports joint research among businesses, universities, and research institutions in areas such as smart industries, digital healthcare, and mobility.
Seventeen companies, including Philips, Siemens, Bosch, Airbus, Thales, and Saab, along with governments and specialized agencies from 16 major countries, participated in discussions on strategies and directions for joint R&D support. PO Days is held annually to refine joint research ideas and find collaboration partners.
This year's event saw approximately 340 participants from around 200 institutions across 20 countries, including domestic companies that held in-depth consultations with entities such as the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial 3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing in Germany, Turkcell Odeme in Turkey, and Turku University of Applied Sciences in Finland, discussing over 35 potential collaborations.
KIAT had also supported the participation and technology matching of six domestic companies at last year's event in Portugal, where 24 consultations were conducted with eight countries. Following that event, eight discussions on advancing ITEA projects took place. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and KIAT plan to support the ideas and consortium discussions identified this time to lead to the selection of main ITEA projects and funding acquisition.
Yun Jong-Jeong, head of KIAT, stated, "To secure global competitiveness, our companies must find overseas partners to develop and commercialize excellent technologies together. We will assist regional innovation companies in global joint research and commercialization efforts."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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