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.

STEPI held a special session titled ‘Strengthening Indonesia’s STI system in Partnership with Korea: Current Issues and Implications for Asian countries’ at the conference of Asian Society for Innovation & Policy (ASIP) on October 9, 2021 at Jeju University and through online zoom. The objective of this STEPI special session was to promote the results of policy advice to the STI community in Asia.

The 2021 K-Innovation Partnership Program Kick-off Meeting was held in April 15, 2021 between the two parties. For the STEPI side, the meeting was conducted at the Amber Room, Millennium Hilton Seoul at 11.00 EST, while for the LIPI side, the meeting was conducted through Zoom Meeting.

Aside from the internal participants within BRIN, government officials and experts from BAPPENAS, RISTEK, related Universities, NGOs, and media outlets joined this kick-off seminar, attended by a total of 82 participants.

The Kick-Off Seminar K-Innovation Partnership Program with Indonesia is the beginning of the 2nd annual STEPI K-Innovation Partnership Program. The arrangement of science & technology and Innovation (STI) Governance: Coordination Mechanism, Institutional Framework and Financial System and Investment consists of coordination mechanism, institutional framework, financial system, and investment in Indonesia. Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) is the core of economic transformation by promoting economic, social, and environmental substantiality.

Dr. Mi-Ock Mun, President of STEPI delivered the opening remarks by recalling the consolidated partnership with Indonesia on STI starting from 2014. She highlighted the importance of STI for economic transformation and extended her appreciation to the Korean experts and Indonesian researchders for implementing the project, as well as to the RISTEK-BRIN for providing all the necessary support in making this project a success.

Dr. Dudi Hidayat, Acting Deputy Chairman of LIPI said that STI was expected as a strategic tool in enhancing competitiveness in the country’s sustainable development. He emphasized that learning from the experiences and best practices of South Korea is quite reasonable for Indonesia in spite of the two countries’ different contexts. In his welcome remarks, he added that for this reason, learning the lessons from South Korea should be carried out with a complex understanding of mechanism and corresponding context, particularly the institutional and regulatory context.

Dr. Mego Pinandito, Executive Secretary of the Indonesian Ministry of Research & Technology briefly explained the urgency of development of STI in Indonesia. He elaborated the conditions and factors that Indonesia is facing such as limited budget, the urgency in transforming the STI issue by an institutional mechanism and structures, the formation of the National Innovation & Research Agency (BRIN), uncoordinated research projects with limited budgets have been perennial problems in Indonesia. To solve such problems, he suggested the necessity to review and arrange the STI governance of Indonesia including coordination, and mechanism, institutional framework as well as an R&D financial & investment system.