POSTECH boasts the most extensive industry collaboration in the world when it comes to applying sciences, according to the Times Higher Education (THE), a London-based leading publisher of higher education analysis and world university rankings.

In its recently published article, South Korean universities lead way on industry collaboration, THE directed attention to the universities worldwide that publish the highest proportions of their research output in collaboration with industry. South Korean universities, with POSTECH in the forefront, are making great strides in forging stronger partnerships with industry.

According to the Clarivate Analytics’ analysis, POSTECH has the highest research intensity in collaboration with industry, resulting in a total of 13,545 research publications during the period of 2007-2016. The proportion of these publications to POSTECH’s total research output is 22.98%, the highest in the world. INSA Lyon of France was ranked second with 18.01% of publications from industry collaborations.

The list of top 50 universities includes MIT, Carnegie Melon, and Stanford University respectively ranked at 26^th, 29^th, and 50^th.

Five other South Korean universities also made the list – SKKU, KAIST, GIST, Hanyang Univ., and SNU ranked 8^th, 11^th, 32^nd, 34^th, and 37^th, respectively.

THE attributed South Korea’s strong university-industry collaboration and R&D intensities to its miraculous industrialization and rapid growth which began in the early 1960s when the nation was still poor and agricultural-based. South Korea’s proportion of GDP spent on R&D in 2015 was 4.23%, the second highest among OECD members. 

President Doh-Yeon Kim welcomed the result, noting that as of the 30^th anniversary celebration last year, POSTECH has reaffirmed its commitment to creating value for society and the nation as a leading entrepreneurial university with a foundation of research excellence. He commented, “THE’s recognition of POSTECH’s strong links with industry adds momentum to our endeavor. We will continuously strive for the advancement of human life through application and commercialization of research outcomes as well as groundbreaking discoveries in basic sciences.”