A New Bridge to South Korea
On June 24, 2014 Technische Universität Chemnitz and the South Korean Konkuk University in Seoul signed a Memorandum of Understanding
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Dr. Heeyoung Song (left), President of the Konkuk University, and Prof. Dr. Arnold van Zyl, Rector of TU Chemnitz, have signed the Memorandum of Understanding. Until now, the cooperation of both universities was limited to the field of printed electronics, but will be extended on the university level in other scientific areas. Photo: Professorship of Digital Printing and Imaging Technology -
After signing the Memorandum of Understanding, the representatives of both delegations made photos to remember the moment. Prof. Dr. Kee-Hyun Shin (5th from left), Head of the Flexible Display Roll-to-Roll Research Center, and Prof. Dr. Reinhard R. Baumann (4th from right), Head of the Professorship of Digital Printing and Imaging Technology, have established the cooperation at the institutional level in the past. Photo: Professorship of Digital Printing and Imaging Technology
In the future, Technische Universität Chemnitz and the Konkuk University in Seoul want to cooperate even more closely in the sector of research and teaching. To support this strategy, Dr. Heeyoung Song, President of the Konkuk University, and Prof. Dr. Arnold van Zyl, Rector of TU Chemnitz, signed on June 24th, 2014 a Memorandum of Understanding. The Konkuk University is located right in the center of the ten-million inhabitant metropolis Seoul. There are more than 30,000 students enrolled at 15 "undergraduate colleges" and 13 "graduate schools". At TU Chemnitz as well as at the Konkuk University, a great deal of research is being carried out in the areas of technology and science. The signed Memorandum of Understanding enhances exchanges of students and scholars, exchange of teaching materials and scientific publications, collaboration in the university teaching, as well as joint research projects and conferences.
During the formal signing of the Memorandum of Understanding in Seoul, besides several representatives of the Konkuk University, took also part Prof. Dr. Reinhard R. Baumann, Head of the Professorship of Digital Printing and Imaging Technology of the Institute for Print and Media Technology at TU Chemnitz and Director of the Department of Printed Functionalities at the Fraunhofer Institute ENAS, together with Michael Ahrens, First Secretary - Cultural, Legal and Consular Affairs of the German Embassy in Korea. The Memorandum of Understanding was produced from a close collaboration between the Professorship of Digital Printing and Imaging Technology in Chemnitz and the Korean Flexible Display Roll-to-Roll Research Center (FDRC) of the Konkuk University. In 2007 has already been signed a Memorandum of Understanding on an institute level. In subsequent years grew the cooperation between FDRC with the working team of Prof. Baumann by numerous exchange of students and academic staff. In total, four students have traveled under the DAAD program to Korea and a student from Korea has come to visit Germany. Last year, a group of students came to see Germany for one week in order to obtain a clear picture of the research culture. What is more, the Korean students present their research work at the "Printing Future Days" conference, which is held every two years in Chemnitz. Since 2010 two scientists from Chemnitz have used the opportunity to research with the Korean team. Dr. Hyunkoo Kang from the Konkuk University works currently as a Humboldt Fellow in Germany. In addition, Anh-Tuan Tran-Le completed his Master`s degree in Korea. He is a research assistant in Chemnitz since 2010.
Since 2013 also takes place the collaboration on the project level. Produced on the German side by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the "Co-Up! Project – to develop hybrid roll-to-roll modular manufacturing technologies for flexible electronics" aims to bundle know-how of the two working groups in the field of machine and process development. To date, two workshops have already been held for the scientific exchange, one in Germany and one in South Korea. A third workshop followed after the signature of the Memorandum of Understanding as well as the joint research work in the respective laboratories. The Co-Up! project is worth around 193,000 euros and runs until the end of 2014. A continuation of the existing project will be thought.
(Author: Susanne Patzig, Translation: Nataliia Boiko)
Katharina Thehos
02.07.2014
