31 Oct 2025
by University College London

University College London eyes research partnerships in Korea

University College London (UCL) – one of the world’s top ten universities – has appointed international business consultancy Intralink to help it build commercial partnerships with Korean technology companies.  

Renowned globally for its world-class research in advanced mobility and clean energy technologies, UCL has recently been selected as the first UK university to host a Global Industrial Technology Cooperation Centre (GITCC). The worldwide network of GITCCs is a Korean government initiative, designed to facilitate collaboration between the country’s corporations and international university researchers and spinouts. 

Building on this prestigious appointment, UCL is now looking to develop wider industrial research-based partnership opportunities in the mobility sector in Korea. 

With one of the most advanced public transport networks in the world, Korea is widely recognised as a global hub for mobility technology. It is also home to automotive leaders, including Hyundai and Kia, which are pioneering electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.  

Headquartered in Oxfordshire, Intralink helps companies secure customers, partners and investors overseas, and enables government agencies to grow their exports and attract foreign investment. The company has a presence in 27 locations including Shanghai, Beijing, New Delhi, Tokyo, Seoul, Taipei, Singapore, Bangkok, London, Paris, Silicon Valley, Boston and Toronto. 

Intralink’s Seoul-based team will initiate discussions on UCL’s behalf with Korean companies in the automotive, shipbuilding and related technology sectors to identify partnership opportunities aligned with UCL’s strengths in battery design, energy systems and digital mobility applications. 

UCL, Intralink & Korean Government members in Seoul (1).jpg

 

Geraint Rees, UCL Vice Provost of Research, Innovation & Global Engagement, said: “UCL is delighted to be working with Intralink. Its multi-national team will accelerate our ability to build productive partnerships with high technology companies in and beyond Korea. In doing so, we aim to reinforce UCL's position as a hub for driving forward globally-connected knowledge, discovery and world-leading research to deliver positive change." 

Intralink will also help the UCL GITCC’s inaugural Director, Professor Jeom-Kee Paik FREng, and his team to secure exploratory meetings with potential Korean partners. 

Professor Paik said: “The UCL GITCC team appreciates the trusted market insight that Intralink’s excellent Seoul-based team can offer in supporting our researchers as we widen and deepen our portfolio of technology relationships in Korea.”  

Narai Kim, Managing Director of Intralink Korea, said: “There’s strong and growing demand among Korean companies for research partnerships with globally respected universities such as UCL. We’re looking forward to working with the UCL team to get this project underway.” 

 

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University College London

University College London

UCL is a diverse global community of world-leading academics, students, partners and alumni. Founded in 1826, it has more than 50,000 students from 150 countries and over 16,000 staff. Named The Times and The Sunday Times University of the Year 2024, UCL is consistently ranked among the world’s top 10 universities.

For more on UCL: visit www.ucl.ac.uk | Follow @uclnews on X | News: www.ucl.ac.uk/news | Podcasts on SoundCloud | Images on Flickr | What’s on at UCL Minds

For more on Intralink, visit www.intralinkgroup.com.

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