Australian-Korean business and technology opportunities
Also:
24 October 2007
Australia and Korea are big
trading partners. Now companies from both countries are working together to
bring their best technologies to a global
market.
A delegation of 20 Korean
technologists is visiting Melbourne later this week to look for business and
technology matching opportunities with their Australian peers.
I’m writing to invite you
to meet them at a reception on Wednesday evening and also to alert you to
potential stories about their technologies and the business prospects between
Australia and Korea.
South Korea is already
Australia’s third largest customer – buying more than $13 billion dollars worth
of energy, minerals, food products and services last year. And increasingly
Koreans are eating dairy products from Victoria and drinking Victorian wine.
In return Australians have
an insatiable appetite for Korean technology: televisions, cars, and IT in
particular. We buy over $6 billion dollars worth of Korean goods each year.
The Korean trade mission,
referred to as a Techno Caravan will build on and extend these existing trade
relations.
The Korean delegates will
help their Australian counterparts to adjust to supplying Asian businesses. And
the Australians will in turn assist their Korean associates in adapting to the
expectations of Western customers with the shared objective of targeting global
markets.
They are being welcomed by
the Victorian Minister for Industry and State Development, Theo Theophanous at a
cocktail party being held on Wednesday 24 October 2007 at 5:30pm at Level 46, 55
Collins Street, Melbourne. Media are welcome.
The Techno Caravan has been
organised with the support of the Australian Electrical and Electronic
Manufacturers' Association (AEEMA), the Korean Industry Technology Foundation (KOTEF)
and ITECplace. KOTEF and AEEMA will sign a memorandum of understanding at the
reception.
The business matching
workshop is being held on Thursday 25 October 2007 at the LaTrobe Technology
Park, Enterprise Centre, 2 Research Av, Bundoora.
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For more information
and interviews please contact:
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Niall Byrne on 03 9398
1416 (
niall@scienceinpublic.com.au)
-
Lauraine McDonald on
(0438) 418 584 ( lauraine@scienceinpublic.com.au )
Mutual
reliance builds global strength
Korea has strengths in ICT manufacture and service, ship building and automotive
manufacture.
Australia has strengths in service, energy resources, agricultural produce,
biotechnology and medical instrumentation.
Kwon-sung Kim, director, Industrial Technology Policy Division, Ministry of
Commerce, Industry & Energy says Australia’s strengths are Korea’s weakest
areas. And Korea’s strengths are Australia’s weakest areas.
“The the weakest part of Korea is service, energy and food. And in Australia
it’s ICT manufacturing. There is scope for the two countries to cooperate in
these areas in future. And ITECplace is a strong force in helping Korea to
implement collaboration pilot programs that address this area.
“For example, Australia's strength in basic scientific research and innovation
has strong synergies with South Korea's strength in commercial application.”
Chairman Joon-suk Jung from the Korean Industrial Technology Foundation agrees.
He
says, “Korea is already Australia's third largest export market, but there is
still potential for growth and opportunities for diversification. For example,
there is scope for Australia to assist Korea with its shortage of engineering
and research professionals in science, engineering and technology industries.
“There is a massive shortage of engineering and research professionals,
especially outside the big Korean cities. The government has many projects in
place to encourage high-school students to stay in their local area after
graduation because local industry has such trouble attracting high-level staff.”
There is also a strong feeling in Korean industry that the current university
curricula does not focus strongly enough on fostering practical skills in order
to meet technical and industrial needs.
Mr. Jung expressed concern that Korea’s graduates are unprepared for the demands
on creativity required to make new designs and more competitive products.
To
address this, Korean government, educational organizations, and private
companies all have collaborations with overseas universities.
Last year Korea ranked as Australia's third largest source of overseas students
with over 31,000 Koreans enrolled in Australian institutions.
Mr. Jung also called on Australian engineers to consider relocating to Korea to
fill technology gaps, as another way to address the problem.
Mr
Kim and Mr Jung were speaking at a workshop in Melbourne, where forty Australian
and Korean companies met to share ideas, technologies and markets.
The Korean trade mission, referred to as a Techno Caravan is seeking business
and technology matching opportunities with their Australian peers. It’s been
organised with the support of the Australian Electrical and Electronic
Manufacturers' Association (AEEMA), the Korean Industry Technology Foundation (KOTEF)
and ITECplace.
For further information:
Bill Petreski, General Manager, ITECplace Pty. Ltd., Mobile: (0438) 881 390,
Tel: (03) 9458 5800, email:
billp@itecplace.com, www.itecplace.com
Niall Byrne, Science in Public, Tel: (03) 9398 1416, email:
niall@scienceinpublic.com.au
Lauraine McDonald , Science in Public, Mobile: (0438) 418 584, email: lauraine@scienceinpublic.com.au
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