Busan is good

BJFEZ now home to FAU Graduate School and Life Science Engineering Center

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April 3^rd- 2009-The BJFEZ Authority (BJFEZA), Busan Metropolitan City (BMC) and Friedrich Alexander University of Eerlangen-Nurmeberg (FAU) have signed an agreement at Busan City Hall to establish and operate a branch campus of the German university.  Present at the signing ceremony were Hur Nam-sik, Mayor of Busan, Commissioner Kim Moon-hee of the FEZ Authority and Dr. Karl Dieter Grueske, President of FAU.

Founded in 1743, in Bavaria, Germany, it is a prestigious state run German university (one of the Top Eight).  FAU runs 5 schools including 22 departments with 260 chairs, 550 professors, 26,000 students and 12,000 staff.

FAU specializes in medical technology, advanced materials, optics, micro and nano-electronics.  The FAU Research Center for Life Science Engineering (LSEC) has research staff totaling 284 involved in joint research with the private sector involving global companies such as Siemens and Bayer. 

The agreement calls for a graduate school branch campus to be located in the Busan Techno-Park of the BJFEZ.  The campus will initially offer Masters Programs in chemical and bio-engineering and expects to recruit 50 students annually.  With the successful introduction of the Masters program, FAU plans to offer a corresponding PhD program.  The Busan LSEC branch will have a research staff of 38 (professors and other advanced level researchers) undertaking projects ranging from medicine, biology, chemistry and molecular research.

Details of the agreement outline broad central and city government support; both the MKE (Ministry of Knowledge and Economy) and BMC will provide initial start-up funding for the first 5 years with the BMC and the BJFEZA providing the campus location and building facilities.  F AU will secure 25.7 billion won (14 million Euros) through private sector research par tners for the establishment and successful growth of the FAU Busan campus during the initial start up period.

The opening of the FAU graduate school and research center in the BJFEZ will serve as an anchor facility to encourage further clustering of more foreign universities and R&D centers into the FEZ.  Further externalities will be the overall growth of FDI inflows and the diversification of both Busan and Gyeongsangnam-do’s economy.

For further information, please contact Dong-Yong Lee, Director of Real Estate Development & Investment, 82-581-979-5320.