Global cities around the world are now in competition for innovation with a great deal of effort channeled toward start-ups. At the center of this trend are universities, where the competitiveness of the start-up originates. Good examples are Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley in Silicon Valley, home to the largest amount of venture capital in the world. In the case of Finland, there was full support and effort from universities and the government to help innovative entrepreneurs after the fall of Nokia. China is creating a start-up cluster centered around Zhongguancun, Beijing, home to the nation’s most important universities of China, including Tsinghua University, Beijing University, and Renmin University.

With 52 universities and 650,000 college students, Seoul boasts the world's best innovation growth potential. Despite this, the entrepreneurial enthusiasm in college has yet to take off. The ratio of young entrepreneurs is only one tenth of that of China, and the best students are focusing on exams to enter large corporations or to become public officials. In China, 89.8% of university students have entrepreneurial intentions; only 2.8% of their Korean counterparts do so. This lack of entrepreneurial spirit inspired the city of Seoul’s 2016 Campus Town Comprehensive Plan, with the aim of linking local communities with universities and revitalizing employment. In the first year, Korea University was the only university to sign an MOU and carry out a pilot project in Seoul.

Supported 27 start-up team activities for 2 years
AEOL Inc. attracts 3 billion won worth of investment after just one year after receiving start-up support.


▲Representative Baek Jae-hyun (AEOL Inc.) presenting a start-up success story.

For the past two years, Korea University has been working with the city government and autonomous districts to carry out various programs and to converge the university and the regions into vibrant university town. First, Korea University operated nine start-up studios and one café in the Campus Town and selected 27 start-up teams through a start-up competition. The selected start-up teams were provided housing space, office equipment support, start-up funding of 3 to 4 million won, start-up training, and mentoring. The start-up teams held a “Campus Town Fair” that displayed and promoted their prototypes for investors. Within the Campus Town, start-up programs were made available for enrollment. With this support, 27 start-up teams have achieved 7 billion won of sales and capital investment in the last two years In addition to supporting the establishment of businesses, Korea University hosted 28 lectures based on the region and induced the participation of local residents and youths by holding a university festival outside the campus, “Embracing Anam,” which had hitherto only taken place within the confines of the University. In addition, facilities at Korea University such as cultural facilities and KU Makerspace have been opened to the private sector and are available for use by various residents.

The aggressive transfer of know-how and support from Korea University President Chung Jin Taek has played an important role in the Korea University Campus Town Project’s remarkable achievements within only two years. Prior to being elected the president, President Chung attended the Campus Town Competition as a judge and helped students.

Within one year, AEOL, a Year 3 Campus Town start-up team has developed a next-generation smart ventilation system that combines dehumidification, ventilation, air purification, and secondary cooling and received an investment of about 3 billion won. Baek Jae-hyun, currently a Ph.D. student in the Department of Mechanical Engineering said, "I had original technology and ideas, but I had no idea how to start. Participating in the Campus Town competition gave me the opportunity to receive the initial funding and start-up space, which were the most difficult barriers I was facing, and the mentoring support and investment attraction support from professors at Korea University were a great help. The start-up environment is important for the revitalization of college student entrepreneurship and I believe that the role of the public institutions and universities is crucial. I hope that support for initial funding, space, and mentoring will continue."