The Seoul Institute of Technology (SIT) and the University of Iowa (UI) recently entered into a campus-wide MOU agreement. The agreement, which went into effect on August 16, 2019, will promote joint research, training, and educational cooperation between the two institutions. 

Director Insuk Ko of SIT, along with three researchers, visited the UI to sign the MOU, which was jointly signed by UI President Bruce Harreld and Associate Provost and Dean of International Programs Downing Thomas.  As part of the visit, the Korean delegation toured the UI's world-famous research facilities at the Iowa Technology Institute (ITI).

"This agreement allows us to continue to bolster our research ties in engineering with South Korea. Collaborative research allows the UI to extend our reach, build on strengths, gain access to resources abroad, and magnify the impact of UI discoveries," says Thomas.

SIT, founded in 2018, is quickly becoming one of Korea's top research institutions.  Funded by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, SIT conducts research on various technology policies related to urban infrastructure improvement and preemptive maintenance, disaster prevention and damage mitigation technology, eco-friendly urban regeneration technology, and building a future city based on smart city technology.

While this partnership was spearheaded by the UI College of Engineering and ITI, it is an institutional agreement and therefore will allow for the exchange of resources, ideas and people from various disciplines at the UI and SIT. Hosin "David" Lee, UI professor of civil and environmental engineering and researcher at ITI, was also present at the signing and is the contact person for those interested in learning more.