Seoul National University of Science and Technology (SeoulTech, President Dong-Hwan Kim) announced that its Department of Biomedical Sciences recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Wisconsin Center for Nanoscale Technology (WisCNano) at the University of Wisconsin for educational and research cooperation. (October 20, 2025)
Through this agreement, both institutions aim to internationalize undergraduate education and strengthen research capabilities. They plan to pursue various initiatives, including operating student exchange and short-term training programs, developing joint curricula, collaborating on Capstone Design and Project-Based Learning (PBL), and expanding joint research and internship programs.
In particular, joint international courses and research participation programs tailored for undergraduate students will be promoted to support students in directly experiencing real-world research environments in the field of nano-bio convergence. Furthermore, faculty exchanges will be expanded to enhance the quality of educational content, and the foundation for research collaboration will be reinforced through joint seminars and workshops.
This MOU is evaluated as part of a strategic collaboration to expand the global educational network of SeoulTech's Department of Biomedical Sciences and to establish a research-oriented undergraduate education system. Moving forward, both institutions plan to establish concrete action plans to operate these cooperative programs step by step.
The Glocal Lab Project is a large-scale initiative launched by the Ministry of Education this year to foster university research institutes as regional research hubs, generate excellent fundamental research outcomes, and nurture the next generation of academic talent.
Korea National University of Transportation was the only institution in the Chungcheongbuk-do, Chungcheongnam-do, Daejeon, and Sejong region to be selected for the Glocal Lab hub category (non-metropolitan area). It will now undertake large-scale R&D. The university will receive a maximum of 14.6 billion KRW (13.5 billion KRW from the government and 1.1 billion KRW from local governments) over up to nine years to carry out the project.
The institution leading the research, the Korea National University of Transportation's Institute of Biometric Convergence Technology, has a vision to "develop a self-responsive actuator hydrogel that causes physical and chemical changes from factors expressed in the inflammatory osteoarthritis microenvironment for diagnostic and therapeutic applications, and to grow into a hub research institute for fostering healthcare talent using this technology."
The project is led by Professor Park Sung-young of the Department of Nanomedical Engineering, with participation from Professors Kim Hwan, Lee Seung-jun, Lee Won-seok, Park Kang-moon, and Jeong Jae-hak. Professor Hak-soo Choi of Harvard Medical School is also joining as a co-researcher, leveraging a global R&D network to develop a bio-active actuator hydrogel. www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20250901151000064
The paper is titled: Optimizing the Surface Functionalization of Peptide–MXene Nanoplatforms to Amplify Tumor-Targeting Efficiency and Photothermal Therapy.