By Margareth Theresia

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on June 24 hosted the inauguration ceremony for the Korea-US Shipbuilding Leaders Forum at HD Hyundai Global R&D Center in Seongnam, Gyeonggi-do Province.

This was the first official occasion to boost education and research cooperation in shipbuilding between the two countries, with representatives from major think tanks and the industries of both sides attending.

The forum's purpose is to form the basis for bilateral cooperation in shipbuilding engineering education and research. For this, the main task is to expand exchanges between professors and students majoring in the subject and develop a joint educational curriculum.

The inaugural event saw both sides introduce their shipbuilding engineering curriculums and research capabilities and discuss plans to cooperate.

In addition, the ministry signed a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. on raising bilateral cooperation in shipbuilding engineering education.

From next year, 20-30 professors in the subject and college students from major American universities will visit Korea every year for short-term training in theory at Seoul National University and to take part in the on-site design process at HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering. Based on this cooperation, the forum's scope of cooperation will be gradually expanded.

"The Korea-US Shipbuilding Leaders Forum will develop into a core platform for cooperation," Deputy Minister for Industrial Policy Lee Seung-ryeol said. "The ministry will make multifaceted efforts to systematically streamline bilateral shipbuilding cooperation with the U.S."

margareth@korea.kr