The Science and Technology Policy Institute (STEPI) of Korea and the Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology & Innovation (MISTI) of Cambodia jointly adopted the "National Science & Technology Roadmap" during a proclamation ceremony held in an event commemorating Cambodia's first-ever National Science, Technology & Innovation Day, which took place from Mar. 26th to 28th.

It was a large-scale national event joined by more than 50,000 participants, including Hun Sen, the incumbent prime minister of Cambodia, high-profile officials from the science and technology field, and university students. While initiatives in the fields of agriculture, education, and health were adopted last year, this year proclaimed the adoption of the roadmap on energy, digital, and tourism.

In a bid to promote awareness of the significance and value of scientific knowledge in developing social economy, the Cambodian government first-ever designated the National Science, Technology & Innovation Day on Mar. 26th, the day the proclamation ceremony was held.

 During the three-day event, Lee Jeong-won, a senior researcher at STEPI, introduced the importance of the "National Science, Technology & Innovation Strategy" and STEPI's support for the development of Cambodia's National Science & Technology Roadmap. Other Korean experts joined the event by sharing Korea's experience and case studies ranging from the national R&D management to the introduction background and characteristics of the National Science & Technology Information Service under the Ministry of Science and ICT of Korea.

The adoption of Cambodia's National Science & Technology Roadmap is a follow-up project (the first-phase policy advisory project was conducted from 2018 to 2019) designed to create policies related to the science, technology and innovation (STI) of Cambodia.

K-Innovation Partnership Program, an ODA project under STEPI, has been organized to support the sustainable development of developing countries based on STI.

Launched in 2014, the program has been assisting recipient countries in developing their economy by providing customized policy consultations and competence support in the STI field. It has yielded accomplishments like the one with Cambodia's case of adopting the National Science & Technology Roadmap and the National Science and Technology Master Plan.

The Science and Technology Policy Research Institute (President Mi-ok Moon) held the '2021 K-Innovation Dissemination Forum' as part of the international technological innovation cooperation project at Baekdu Hall, Grand Ballroom, Dragon City, Seoul on the 15th.

This forum was prepared to announce the 2021 performance of the K-Innovation Partnership Program, an official development assistance (ODA) project of the Korea Science and Technology Institute, and to seek more effective business directions.

The Science and Technology Policy Institute (STEPI) held the 2021 STEPI Global Symposium through online broadcasting starting Friday, December 10 at 2:30 p.m.

The global symposium was themed “Global STI (science, technology & innovation) for Resilient and Sustainable System in the Post-COVID Era.” It was an opportunity for experts at home and abroad to share issues and seek solutions related to rebuilding public trust in science and  global cooperation in science and technology.

Starting with the opening remarks by Mun Mi-ock, president of STEPI, and congratulatory remarks by Jung Hae-gu, chairperson of the National Research Council for Economics, Humanities, and Social Sciences Korea, and Kim Bok-chul, chairperson of the National Research Council for Science & Technology Korea, the symposium had two sessions: ▲ Rebuilding Public Trust in Science and ▲ Vision for Global Cooperation in Science and Technology.

In the first session, Jiro Kokuryo, a professor at Keio University and the first presenter, explained the current state of the socio-technical system and introduced a digital institution newly established in 2021 in Japan under the theme “AI for Social Good: What Are We After?” 

He also described the ethical challenges related to data use and correlation between human and machines.

In the next presentation, Fernanda Beigel, a professor at the National University of Cuyo and a member of the National Scientific and Technical Research Council, Argentina, introduced the history of open science that began in 1960 in her talk on “The UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science and Its Implications on Public Trust in Science.” 

At the same time, she explained the necessity of open science for global communities based on the experiences and lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic and the recommendation of UNESCO on open science.

In the second session, Mario Cervantes, senior economist of the OECD Science and Technology Policy Division, showed the ratio of global cooperation in all scientific researches and major cooperating countries in his talk on “Strengthening Multilateral STI Collaboration for SDGs.”

He pointed out the fundamental problems in global collaboration in science and technology and stressed the importance of global cooperation after the COVID-19 pandemic and the recommendation of OECD on the scientific and technological collaboration for the implementation of SDGs.

Lastly, Marta Pérez Cusó, economic affairs officer of the Technology and Innovation Section of the Trade, Investment, and Innovation Division of UN ESCAP, explained the purpose of establishment of national STI policies as well as the STI policies that address the problems of inequality.

She also emphasized the importance of dissemination of inclusive innovation, not the next-generation technology.

A panel discussion followed each session. The first discussion was chaired by Lee Hyun-sook, professor of Biological Science at the College of Natural Science of Seoul National University, with the participation of Park Chan-soo, chief director of the Division of Innovative Growth Strategy of STEPI, and Park Buhm-soon, faculty member of the Graduate School of Science and Technology Policy of KAIST and member of the Subcommittee on Social and Human Sciences & Natural Science of the Korean National Commission for UNESCO.

The chair of the second discussion was Jang Yong-suk, senior research fellow of STEPI, and its panel consisted of Park Hwan-il, chief director of the Division of Global Innovation Strategy of STEPI, and Oh Young-ju, president of the Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security. The panel had an intense discussion on the topic of the session.