Songdo Bio-cluster in Incheon Metropolitan City is emerging as the world’s most extensive biopharmaceutical production base. Songdo Bio-cluster has secured biopharmaceutical production facilities with the capacity of 820,000 liters since 2003, surpassing the capacities of competing cities around the world, such as San Francisco (340,000 liters) and Singapore (210,000 liters). The Songdo Bio-cluster, established on a 920,000 m² site, houses bio companies such as Samsung Biologics and Celltrion alongside 60 institutions relating to industry-academy-institute cooperation. Under the circumstance, Incheon Metropolitan City held the ‘2021 Republic of Korea Youth Bio Academy’ as a year-round plan and project to increase young people’s understanding of biotechnology and to foster future bio talents brimming with creativity and passion.
The event will begin with the opening address of PARK Nam-chun, Mayor of Incheon Metropolitan City, and continue for two days. The keynote speech will be given by KI Woo-seong, CEO of Celltrion and KO Han-seung, CEO of Samsung Bioepis. It is expected to help middle and high school students see the big picture of the present and future of K-Bio. Students participating in the event can tour bio companies in Songdo Bio-cluster and join in exciting bio experience experiments at Ghent University Global Campus. Teachers of Ghent University Global Campus will provide various programs, such as making fluorescent plants using jellyfish genes, pathogen detection and diagnosis, aspirin synthesis experiments, and lectures and experiments on CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology to raise the interest of participating students and provide the experience of advanced science technology education at the same time.
Ghent University is a Belgian national and public university placed 60th in the official world university ranking. It is a world-recognized institution of higher education beyond Europe, particularly renowned for its world’s top education and research in veterinary medicine, life sciences, and biotechnology. Ghent University Global Campus, an expanded campus, opened in Songdo, Incheon in September 2014 and has proven itself as a successful educational institute as 93% of the graduates entered the world’s prestigious graduate schools or found employment in domestic and overseas institutions as of 2020.
Based on such educational expertise and results, Ghent University Global Campus will successfully hold the ‘2021 Republic of Korean Youth Bio Academy’ and continue to cooperate with Dong-A Ilbo and Channel A to open a website where students can continuously experience and learn science and technology, supporting young Koreans to grow into global talents in the biofield.
