The Korea Institute of Industrial Technology (KITECH) held the "Korea-Canada Battery Circular Economy Seminar and B2B Consultation" in partnership with the Canadian Embassy in Korea at The Plaza Hotel in Seoul on the 14th. The event was organized at the suggestion of the Canadian Embassy to discuss joint research, pilot project promotion, and technological cooperation in the field of recycled and reused waste batteries among corporations. The seminar progressed with the announcement of Canada's Indo-Pacific strategy and the Korean government's support policy for the battery industry, followed by a B2B consultation to discuss technological cooperation in areas such as battery lifespan extension and electric vehicle chargers.
The Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) noted that it held a meeting on the 14th at the Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science to secure competitiveness in Korea's quantum technology sector. On this day, KIPO and the standards research institute shared the latest status and patent trend analysis of the rapidly evolving quantum technology and discussed patent strategies and cooperation methods to enter into advanced countries. KIPO Commissioner Kim Wan-ki said, "Quantum technology is a game changer for the future growth of South Korea, making strategic intellectual property rights a crucial priority," adding that they plan to continue support for securing competitiveness in the quantum technology sector through ongoing communication with the research community.
The Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) announced on the 14th that it has taken the lead in establishing international standards for Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN) based on Open RAN. NTN is a technology that combines mobile and satellite communications to provide services to areas not covered by terrestrial networks and is considered one of the key technologies for future 6G. Last year, ETRI proposed new research items (RI) related to NTN in collaboration with the three domestic mobile carriers, Samsung Electronics, and six overseas academic and industrial research institutions. The approval of the research item by the Open RAN Alliance nGRG Technology Oversight Committee (nGRG TOC) has enabled ETRI to take a leading role in securing core standard technologies.
The National Museum of Korea announced that it will continue to hold the "Star Science Special Lecture" on the third Saturday of every month this year to promote the spread of scientific culture. The Star Science Special Lecture invites approachable experts from various fields to unfold various everyday topics from a scientific perspective. The first lecture this year will take place on Jan. 18 at 2 p.m., themed "The Year of the Blue Snake, Accompanying Blue Dreams" in celebration of the Year of the Blue Snake. During this lecture, rapper Outsider will discuss the ecology of various snakes and reptiles and the appeal of reptiles as pets.