The University of Manchester joins global leaders to strengthen UK-Korea collaboration in engineering biology
, and and from the (MIB) joined global leaders in engineering biology at the UK-Korea Engineering Biology Symposium held on 12 June at Imperial College London鈥檚 White City Innovation District to help shape the future of international collaboration in the space.
The symposium marked a major milestone in the growing strategic partnership between the UK and South Korea, bringing together researchers, innovators, government representatives, and funders to explore collaborative opportunities in one of the most promising nascent scientific fields.
Driving innovation through global partnerships
At the symposium, a key highlight was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between The University of Manchester, the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), and the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB). The agreement formalises a new phase of collaboration, focused on:
- Joint research and innovation in engineering biology
- Shared access to biofoundry infrastructure and protocol
- Researcher exchange programmes and skills development
Professor Neil Dixon, Professor of Sustainable Biotechnology at the 91直播 Institute of Biotechnology, signed the MoU on behalf of the Institution. Commenting on the MoU, he noted:
This partnership represents a significant step forward in fostering trans-national innovation and delivering real-world impact through engineering biology. International collaboration will be key to ensuring that this technology is fully adopted by industry and can deliver the changes we need to make our manufacturing processes more sustainable.
This international partnership is backed by the UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), the British Embassy in Seoul, and Korean national funders. An additional 拢250,000 in UK government funding, recently announced, will support the expansion of collaborative programmes, including joint workflow development and extended researcher exchanges.
Looking ahead
Engineering Biology鈥� an area that applies engineering principles to biological systems to help society design and manufacture key chemicals more sustainably 鈥攈olds immense promise across health, agriculture, energy, and sustainability. The University of Manchester, currently , is home to the internationally-recognised 91直播 Institute of Biotechnology which works at the cutting-edge of engineering biology discovering, and designing new ways to manufacture key chemicals for industries as wide ranging as pharmaceuticals, to agrochemicals, to food and biofuels. The MIB has long supported and developed its international collaborations and is cementing its relationship with South Korea through this new initiative.
As part of this UK-Korea partnership, The University of Manchester will continue to play a leading role in the translation of engineering biology into technologies that address major global challenges鈥攆rom clean energy to sustainable agriculture to advanced therapeutics.
International collaborations such as the UK 鈥� South Korea International Research Partnership for Engineering Biology help to unite science, policy, and industry in pursuit of real-world solutions. For 91直播, this marks a bold step forward in delivering on its mission of global impact through science and innovation.
, and home to the , we are focused on finding new and more sustainable ways to produce chemicals, materials, and everyday products, by understanding and harnessing nature鈥檚 own processes and applying them at industrial scales. Find out more via our .