Cytiva strengthens commitment to foster talent pool in Korea

08 May 2021 | Saturday | News


Series of collaborations with leading universities will serve the ever-growing Korean biopharma industry address the workforce skills gap
Above: Joon Ho Choi (left), General Manager of Cytiva Korea and Junho Lee (right), Dean of Cellege of Natural Sciences at SNU

Above: Joon Ho Choi (left), General Manager of Cytiva Korea and Junho Lee (right), Dean of Cellege of Natural Sciences at SNU

Cytiva is building its presence in the Korean market by expanding collaborations with top academic institutions.

On April 27, we signed a memorandum of understanding with Seoul National University (SNU), considered the most prestigious national research university in Korea. Through this collaboration, we plan to install six pieces of Cytiva equipment for a new lab at the College of Natural Sciences, which will be open to students and researchers as well as other biotech companies for trainings and seminars.

Danaher Corporation’s other operating companies (Beckman Coulter, Molecular Devices and SCIEX) will also take part in this collaboration by providing equipment for the lab’s research and training purposes.

Junho Lee, Dean of College of Natural Sciences at Seoul National University, says: “Thanks to Cytiva and Danaher Corporation, the upcoming lab will play a crucial role in creating impactful research outcomes and fostering young talent which will contribute to strengthening the competitiveness of Korea’s bio industry.”

Cytiva also announced collaborations with Inha University Graduate School’s Department of Biosystems and Bioengineering, and the JEI University (Incheon Jaeneung University) in January and March, respectively. Together with the universities, we will develop technical education and joint education programs tailored to the industry’s needs and help build a skilled and creative workforce.

The partnership with Inha and JEI university located in Incheon is part of Cytiva’s strategy to create synergy with neighboring customers and partners within the world-class Bio Cluster in Korea. Songdo International City, located in Incheon Free Economic Zone, accommodates than 50 major biotech companies, including Samsung Biologics and Celltrion.

Cytiva’s APAC Fast Trak Training Center is also strategically located in Songdo. Equipped with cutting-edge bioprocessing facilities and optimized for the actual industrial environment, the facility serves as a comprehensive bio-specialized support center that provides practical training in life science, technical analysis, production support, and consulting related to bioprocessing.

Our efforts to foster young talent will help meet a key challenge for the Korean market. Earlier this year, Cytiva announced a 'Global Biopharma Resilience Index' report jointly conducted with Longitude, a research institute of the British Financial Times (FT).

According to the report which is based on a survey of 1,165 pharmaceutical and biotech executives and health and medical policy officials from 20 countries, Korea ranks first among Asian countries and seventh in the world. However, while showing high scores in the category of R&D ecosystem and government’s policy, it received relatively low scores regarding talent pool and manufacturing agility.

Cytiva’s mission to advance and accelerate therapeutics doesn’t end at providing technologies and solutions. In fact, it extends to creating a platform to help equip the workforce of tomorrow with the skills and expertise that the industry demands.

Joon Ho Choi, General Manager of Cytiva Korea says, “The biotech industry in Korea is growing rapidly, and its outlook remains bright thanks to active investments from the government and the private sector. However, developing a workforce that the industry needs is a major task to further vitalize the industry. Through this agreement we hope professional education will reach the students who will become biotech industry leaders of the future.”

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