On September 10, the KAIST Core Tech Transfer Day was held at the Convention and Exhibition Center (COEX) in Seoul. Hosted by the KAIST Office of University-Industry Cooperation, the conference introduced six core patented technologies developed by KAIST research centers. The goal of the conference was to increase market competitivity, promote job creation, and encourage university and industry collaboration through the sharing of key industry techniques from Korean companies and universities. A representative from the Office of University-Industry Cooperation stated that “the conference will work as a stepping stone towards one of KAIST Vision 2031’s goals of ‘innovation in technology-commercialization’. A conference transferring key patented technology will be held every year.”

KAIST plans to work with the Korea Technology Finance Corporation in order to provide a corporate-financial link and supplemental services to the companies that are receiving KAIST’s patented technologies. KAIST will provide these companies with additional services such as business model development, patent research and development strategy analysis, and marketing development.

The six patented technologies introduced at the conference were in the fields of research central to the Fourth Industrial Revolution: biology, nanotechnology, artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductors, etc. Specifically, the six technologies introduced were the following: a new nanopatterning platform technology, the creation of a candidate for an immunotherapeutic anticancer drug, a method for the mass production of biofuels using microbes, a compact single-shot supersensory camera technique, an AI-based high definition (HD) upscaling technique, and a UV-resistant MOSFET semiconductor. The AI-based upscaling technique and the compact supersensory camera techniques garnered attention at the Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin (IFA) exhibition, also known as the Berlin Radio Show, prior to this conference.

To decide the six technologies presented at the conference, KAIST professors organized an internal competition and accepted applications from research groups with patented technologies throughout campus. The applications were reviewed by a panel of approximately 15 people, which included patent attorneys, venture investors, and commercialization experts.

In addition to the technological transfer that occured at the conference, there was a discussion on cooperation strategies involving 200 invited corporate officials and investors.

Kyung Cheol Choi, Associate Vice President of the Office of University-Industry Cooperation, expressed his enthusiasm for the event. He expressed that “this technology transfer conference will act as a platform for KAIST to actively introduce companies to KAIST’s patented technology and will advance the cooperation of industry and academia, allowing for increased job creation and globalization.”