The SKERIC project aims to implement, with digital and physical platforms, tailor-made programmes for international and interdisciplinary development of the best and most outstanding young researchers and innovators to become leading researchers, academic leaders and outstanding innovators. Through the creation of networks, the development of tools, training, development, and funding, SKERIC wants to give future researchers a platform to conduct research for solutions to current societal challenges and to work for democracy and academic freedom.
The Swedish participating universities, in addition to Umeå University, are the Royal Institute of Technology, Lund University, the University of Gothenburg and Uppsala University. Korean partners in the project are Korea University, Seoul National University and Pohang University of Science and Technology. The project is conducted in collaboration with the Swedish Embassy in Seoul.
Kick-off for SKERIC, Sweden Korea Education, Research, and Innovation Collaboration, in November 2023, when a delegation from Umeå University visited Seoul in South Korea.
"The project started in the autumn of 2023 with a first meeting in South Korea. There were productive meetings where the work on the upcoming calls in the spring of 2024 in the three different areas of the project; Future Laureates, Science Diplomacy Academy and Science to Business Forum took shape. In addition to these three areas, there is a working group for organisation and one for quality assurance of the project," says Katrine Riklund, Deputy Vice-Chancellor at Umeå University.
Future Laureates is an interdisciplinary collaboration on various societal challenges. Five groups of young researchers will work together with mentors in these areas: climate change and green transformation, precision health and health engineering, innovative energy solutions, a dynamic, secure and sustainable society, and artificial intelligence. This programme is aimed at young researchers who defended their doctoral thesis up to five years ago. A total of 25 researchers from Sweden and as many from Korea will be admitted to this work package. The programme also includes communication, ethics in research and writing applications.
The Science Diplomacy Academy is a leadership programme with the aim of developing knowledge to lead in the complex international world in which research is conducted. The definition of what is Science Diplomacy varies, but this programme is all about leading in line with democratic values. This is particularly important now because of the geopolitical situation in the world. The focus is therefore on the complexity of international collaborations. Academic freedom, risk assessment in international contexts, legal aspects and cultural differences are some of the themes that will be addressed. The target group is researchers with PhDs, who have completed their post-doc and who are expected to have a leading position within five years. 15 participants from each country will participate in this programme.
Nominations for Future Laureates and Science Diplomacy Academy work packages will open at the end of March 2024. More information will be provided in the near future.
The Science to Business Forum is about supporting researchers in start-up and spin-off companies. For example, you get help with how to think in order to establish yourself in a new market. Within this package, one start-up company per university will be involved.
All themes involve meetings in South Korea in 2024 and 2025, with a meeting in Sweden in 2026, with a series of digital meetings in between.
Collaboration between Swedish and South Korean universities has existed for some time, and SKERIC is a development of that collaboration.
At the end of 2024, the first calls for seed funds and mobility funds for young researchers will open. The next SKERIC meeting is scheduled for the second week of November 2024 in Korea. During this week, the recurring Sweden-Korea Nobel Memorial Program, where researchers from both Sweden and South Korea comment on this year's Nobel Prize, will also take place. The Sweden-Korea Nobel Memorial Program is organized by the higher education institutions in collaboration with the Embassy.
SKERIC is funded by STINT, The Swedish Foundation for International Cooperation in Research and Higher Education, participating universities, and also receives support from the Swedish Embassy in Seoul.
Do you want to know more about SKERIC and Umeå University's collaborations in South Korea? Get in touch with Helena Gradin, Deputy Head of Unit at the International Office.
Web: www.skeric.org