▲ Innopolis / Chief Director Beongsam Kang

The R&D special zones aka Innopolis goal to promote new technologies and industries. Daedeok Innopolis is the first to open in Daejeon in 1973 followed by Gwangju, Daegu, Busan and North Jeolla Province as of today. 

Opened July 2012, Innopolis is the supportive foundation that proceeds these special zones nice and smooth. The support includes industry-university cooperation and promotion of environmental, social and corporate governance. It also serves as the control tower of the special zones and divisions such as promotion, operation system, management, project running and infrastructure work for the special zones to maximize their R&D capabilities. 

Innopolis is sensitive to market trend. It completed Innopolis Metaverse, a hyper-connected platform designed for the special zones, in April 2022. The platform targets activation of expanded virtual realty backed up by the sections for promotion, marketing, exchange and special purpose where investment IR, technology transfer, meetings, networking and training take place. 

Innopolis signed a MOU with Korea College of Media Arts in 2019 and has been providing students opportunities of field trips and of creating promotional video clips that meets differentiated technologies of the special zones. 29 video clips have been created in collaboration since 2019 and students with merits were benefited when getting a job while Innopolis could use these clips to promote the special zones to the people. 

A clip made in 2019 was themed on specialized zones for SME and it effectively delivered visions of the zones to the people. A clip made in 2020 was themed on innovative research companies in the zones and it accompanied a unique jingle with impressive rhythms and melodies. The jingle was listened more than 2,000 times as soon as it was released. Another notable clip is of the International Science & Business Belt which is being used for jingle of KTX. The areas and application of these video clips are getting wider year by year and so are the challenges of opportunities of students. 

As for ESG, Innopolis runs two campaigns: participatory and informative. The participatory involves tree planting, digital documentation, eco-bags for used banners and Green Box (used clothes donation). As a result, according to Innopolis, they have reduced 4,320g fine dust, 2,595kg carbon dioxide and planted 1,150 30 year old pine trees so far. The 7 informative card news, on the other hands, involved ESG contest, ESG crowd funding and donation of recycled products. 

This year, Innopolis is focusing more of ESG in awareness of serious climate change and environmental pollution as well as of win-win management and regional development. <PowerKorea>