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Busan Metropolitan City Hosts Contest to Rename the “Marine Science and Technology Industry-Academia-Research Cooperation Center (STEM Village)”

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Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced today (October 1) that it will host a naming contest under the theme, “What should be the new name of the Marine Science and Technology Industry-Academia-Research Cooperation Center?” The contest will run until October 19.

This initiative was prepared to determine a new name for the nation’s first-ever marine and fisheries artificial intelligence (AI) data-based “Marine Science and Technology Industry-Academia-Research Cooperation Center” (hereinafter referred to as the Center), which is scheduled for completion by the end of this year.

Currently known as “STEM Village,” the City plans to work with citizens to create a new name that embodies the Center’s identity. (*STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics)

The City will select three candidate names through an initial internal review followed by a preference survey targeting related businesses and the general public. The final winning name will be used for Center promotion and branding. Evaluation criteria will include appropriateness, creativity, popularity and accessibility, as well as scalability and branding potential.

Any interested citizen may participate in the contest by submitting a proposed name (up to 10 characters) and an explanation (at least 10 characters) through the online link (m.site.naver.com/1SdjQ) or via a simple QR survey. Further details can be found on the City’s official announcement board (www.busan.go.kr/nbgosi).

Final results will be announced in October through the City’s official announcement board (www.busan.go.kr/nbgosi). The top winner will receive two cruise boarding passes, the second-place winner will receive two yacht boarding passes, and the third-place winner will be awarded a fish cake gift certificate.

Meanwhile, Busan Metropolitan City is constructing the “Marine Science and Technology Industry-Academia-Research Cooperation Center” with a total project budget of 32.2 billion KRW in the Dongsam Innovation District, Yeongdo-gu. The building will have a total floor area of 10,385 square meters, spanning one basement level and seven above-ground floors. It is scheduled for completion by the end of 2025 and opening in the first half of 2026.

The Center will provide office space for companies and support the technologies, knowledge, equipment, and information that tenant companies practically need.

Major facilities include:

• ●Industry-academia-research collaboration spaces (three R&D labs)

• ●Company office spaces (37 firms)

• ●Shared workspaces (co-working spaces)

• ●Conference rooms

• ●Seminar rooms

• ●Open lounges

In particular, the Center plans to attract promising marine-specialized enterprises, startups, SMEs, and research institutes that lead AI and digital transformation in the marine sector through an R&BD (Research & Business Development) foundation. It will promote joint R&D and technology development, regular exchange events, network building, and cooperative projects. (*R&BD: an expanded concept of R&D that combines research and development with business model building and commercialization.)

The City aims to establish a “Global Hub for Advanced Marine New Industries” leading AI and digital transformation in the marine and fisheries sector. It will continue to strengthen the Center’s capacity so that it can function as a demonstration hub for national marine policy in connection with the relocation of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries to Busan.

Park Geun-rok, Director General of the City’s Marine Agriculture & Fisheries Bureau, stated, “This contest is an important project to determine a new name, together with citizens, for the nation’s first-ever industry-academia-research cooperation innovation hub based on marine and fisheries AI data. We look forward to the active interest and participation of our citizens.”