The government is expanding its project to attract excellent overseas scientists. The project, which was previously left to individual researchers, is evolving into an initiative led by research institutions.
According to the science and technology community on the 18th, the National Research Foundation of Korea recently announced the establishment of an institutional recruitment type for its project titled "brain pool" aimed at attracting excellent overseas scientists.
The brain pool project invites outstanding overseas scientists to conduct research together in domestic industry, academia, and research settings. It began in 1994 as a project to utilize the expertise of high-level overseas scientists and has undergone several revisions to establish its current framework since 2021. More than 100 outstanding overseas scientists are currently residing in the country through this project.
So far, the brain pool project has been conducted in a format where individual domestic researchers personally sought out and invited excellent overseas researchers. As a result, there were instances where institutions could not properly manage outstanding overseas researchers or where systematic collaboration did not occur.
The institutional recruitment type of the brain pool project is seen as a response to the global trend of increasing importance of international collaboration and joint research. The Ministry of Science and ICT explained, "The government's support project for attracting overseas researchers is being restructured from an individual to an institution-centered approach to strengthen the attraction of researchers that fits the needs and strategies of research institutions." Previously, the Ministry of Science and ICT noted in the science and technology talent growth and development strategy announced in September last year that it would enhance the recruitment and support for foreign personnel.
The newly established institutional recruitment type of the brain pool project does not impose any restrictions on the number of overseas researchers that can be invited. In the existing individual recruitment type project, one research leader could invite only one overseas researcher, but the institution-led recruitment type has eliminated such restrictions. The duration of the research is set at three years, allowing for stable research.
Overseas researchers coming to the country through the brain pool project will receive a salary ranging from 5 million to 25 million won per month. Various research activity expenses, including airfare, insurance, relocation expenses, child tuition, and research living allowances, will also be provided to assist in settling down in the country. In this first year of the project, support will be provided to eight institutions, with between 300 million to 900 million won allocated per project. Institutions will have the flexibility to freely use the research funds, increasing autonomy.
On the same day, Vice Minister Lee Chang-yun hosted a meeting to review the status of efforts to attract overseas scientific and technological talents. Eleven institutions, including the five major science and technology specialized universities, the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), the Institute for Basic Science, the National Research Foundation of Korea, the Korea Science and Technology Organizations Federation, and the Korea Industrial Technology Association, attended to discuss strategies for attracting outstanding overseas talents.
During the meeting, Vice Minister Lee stated, "In the context of a global talent war and a declining population, attracting overseas talent is essential to maintain and enhance our research competitiveness." He added, "We will make efforts to accurately identify the demand for overseas talent in the field and to timely connect and provide various support measures accordingly."
A participant at the meeting noted, "Many local scientists are feeling uneasy as the recent Trump administration has cut research and development budgets and controlled indirect cost rates, and this could be an opportunity to actively attract local scientists like in China. Therefore, we must also pursue active policies."