POSTECH News
AP Forum Benchmarking Trip Highlights Regional Development and Partnership with European Cities
Vision, Partnership, and Leadership
are the Keys to Spurring Local Development
Leaders of the AP Forum (Advance Pohang Forum) participated in a 10 day benchmarking trip to Europe last month to discuss regional development and urban regeneration with political, business, and academic leaders in Manchester and Sheffield, UK and Dresden, Germany. POSTECH President Yongmin Kim led the delegation’s meetings with leaders in these three cities to share ideas on local development, innovation, and urban regeneration. The AP Forum leaders hope that the urban development practices that led to the renaissance of these industrial cities will assist in the future development direction of Pohang.
This second year benchmarking trip focused on vision, partnership, and leadership as key areas for local development. The AP Forum leaders chose Manchester, Sheffield, and Dresden as benchmarking cities because of its ability to overcome industrial decline and successfully revitalize through urban regeneration and high technology innovation. These cities in particular have built industry-academic cooperation for cutting-edge technology.
The delegation visited the city halls, universities, science complexes, and laboratories in each city that are the main agents for local development and innovation. They discussed with local leaders ways to make Pohang into a creative city in which science and technology, excellent human resources, and a diverse culture can coexist.
President Kim will emphasize seven key areas for local development with the AP Forum in the effort to create a practical environment for industry-academic cooperation to develop Pohang into a creative tech city:
- 1) A stable and continuous leadership and a clear vision and partnership between government and local agencies;
- 2) A careful and systematic process for long term local development;
- 3) The important role that universities play in driving local development and innovation;
- 4) Academic and research collaboration as essential to forming a science city;
- 5) Technical commercialization of creative ideas and stimulating startups based on joint research between industry, university, and research institutes;
- 6) The development of a culture and tourism industry based on Pohang’s unique identity and great wealth of culture and tourism assets;
- 7) Making Pohang a livable, fascinating, and globalized city.
President Kim will highlight the need to develop research clusters and foster hidden champions to prepare for changes in local industries. He will also emphasize the establishment of a cooperation and communication system among organizations where people can discuss future directions and objectives and share strategies for development.
The AP Forum is a consultative group of 170 members consisting of local Pohang leaders. It was created by POSTECH in June 2012 to assist in the future development of Pohang. The Pohang Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Pohang Steel Industry complex participate in the AP Forum.
