Global Business Innovation Programme in South Korea - Green Smart Cities

A GBIP has three stages:

Prepare for the market

Preparing for the market includes the cohort being briefed by sector and market experts on, for example, cultural aspects of conducting business in that country. Delegates receive help to find business partners and arrange meetings and are advised on best practice including the management and protection of their intellectual property.

Visiting the market

Visiting the market provides opportunities to attend pre-arranged meetings and activities in order to better understand and maximise the opportunities that the visit presents.

Exploiting the opportunity

Exploiting the opportunity is arguably the most important aspect of the programme. To maximise the opportunity, participating companies are given bespoke one-to-one support from an Innovate UK EDGE innovation and growth specialist to help develop and implement an action plan.

The Global Business Innovation Programme operates on a competitive basis and businesses selected are required to participate in all three stages (some or all of which may be online).

To apply for this initiative, you must be:

• A UK-based innovation-led company with ambitions to grow and scale globally
• A company with fewer than 250 employees
• A CEO, founder, or senior decision maker able to attend and complete all activities

Home to global technology companies Samsung, LG Electronics and KT Corporation, South Korea is one of the most technologically advanced economies in the world, ranking 2nd in terms of technology readiness and innovation, according to the World Economic Forum. For over two decades, the country has been developing its cutting-edge infrastructure and superfast connectivity to solve urban problems and improve the quality of life by applying smart and disruptive technologies to cities and urban centres.

In the Smart City Korea plan, the government has prioritised smart city pilot projects in Sejong, Busan and Daegu and has set out an ambitious agenda to adopt 64 local smart city platforms by 2025, integrating geographic information systems, ICT platforms and utilising IoT and AI. With a keen focus on international collaboration for sustainable smart city development and established South Korea – UK Collaborative R&D programmes with Korea Institute of Advancement of Technology KIAT and Korea Agency for Infrastructure Technology Advancement (KAIA), opportunities for UK companies developing smart city solutions are considerable”.

Digital and data driven innovations that provide sustainable urban solutions to:

• Future mobility
• Disaster prevention and management
• Clean energy optimisation
• Safety and security
• Buildings – heating/cooling
• Circular economy

Innovate UK will fund and organise flights, accommodation, in market travel, and conference fees for successful applicants. Innovate UK will also pay for any reasonable adjustments throughout the initiative. Only one representative from each company will be funded and the same person will be expected to participate in all parts of the programme.

On acceptance to the programme a commitment fee of £1000 will be requested, to be refunded on completion of all activities and an agreed work plan. Non-completion after formal acceptance may result in forfeiting some or all the commitment fee.

Register for the application briefing event on 14th May here.
Applications close: 31 May 2024
Notification of selection: 14 June 2024
Get ready workshop in Birmingham: 2 – 3 July 2024
Innovation visit to South Korea: 30 August – 7 September 2024
Exploit the opportunity Workshop in Birmingham: 16 October 2024