Gov't allocates 1 trillion won to humanities, science and engineering research
Published: 14 Jan. 2025, 17:49
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- LEE TAE-HEE
- [email protected]
![The Ministry of Education's building in Sejong [NEWS1]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/01/14/c761b3cf-e613-4e5f-b391-545a36b62c6d.jpg)
The Ministry of Education's building in Sejong [NEWS1]
The Ministry of Education announced Tuesday it will fund a total of 1.015 trillion won ($694.7 million) to facilitate research in the humanities, science and engineering fields this year.
A total of 595.8 billion won will be used for research support in the science and engineering fields this year, up 15.76 percent on year. Another 419.1 billion won will be allocated to humanities research, down 0.7 percent on year.
Of the funding allocated to the natural sciences and engineering, 156 billion won will be used to create more research grant projects.
The number of master's research grant projects will increase to 1,500, compared to 1,350 in 2024. There will be 1,200 Ph.D. research grant projects, compared to the previous year's 822.
Another 293 billion won will be allocated to national research institutes to improve their research facilities and create regional institutes that will carry out research projects specialized to each region.
Funding of 144 billion won will be used to increase the overall amount of university research grants.
A new Glocal R&D program will also be created through the budget, offering research grants to researchers at universities outside of greater Seoul. If such research projects are jointly carried out with an overseas research institute, more research grants will be provided.
The government will also select fields that have struggled to secure private research funding, creating around 10 research projects to ensure research continues in all areas.
More research support will also be offered for the humanities.
Of the humanities budget, 257 billion won will be used to foster foundational research, with many research grant projects to be created.
Using the funding, around 100 research grant programs for master's students will be created, offering grants worth 12 million won a year. Research grant programs for Ph.D. students will remain similar to 2024, with around 300 projects offering grants worth 20 million won per year.
New humanities R&D projects will utilize funding of 28 billion won. For instance, the HK 3.0 program will be newly created this year, selecting 10 humanities research projects to offer funding for six years.
Support will also be extended to undergraduate students in the humanities.
The ministry will select two new universities to participate in the Humanities Utmost Sharing System (HUSS) program, which offers 3 billion won per year to each of the schools. There are currently eight universities participating in the program.
HUSS universities can use the funding to develop interdisciplinary humanities curricula, create internship opportunities for humanities students, or arrange special lecture programs and competitions.
A total of 19.8 billion won will be specifically allocated to fund Korean studies research.
"For our society to develop in an ideal direction, the humanities and the natural sciences and engineering fields must serve as a solid foundation of our knowledge, and we will provide comprehensive support to next-generation scholars and researchers to fully dedicate themselves to their work," said Education Minister Lee Ju-ho.
BY LEE TAE-HEE [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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