The KIC Start Lean Innovation Program: Adapting the NSF I-Corps model in Korea

With funding from the Korean National Research Foundation (NRF), the Korea Innovation Center (KIC) near Washington, D.C. has launched an ambitious Korea-wide initiative to develop and deliver its own unofficial version of the US National Science Foundation’s Innovation Corps program (I-Corps) for researchers at Korean university and government research institutes. With its partners George Washington University (GW), Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Korea Entrepreneurship Foundation (KEF), and the Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), KIC brings participants to Washington, D.C. for four weeks of lean startup training and customer development interviews with potential US customers. This is followed by an additional two weeks of training in Korea with their home institutions, and a closing week at either KAIST or POSTECH. This panel discusses the development and ongoing challenges of building the program and lessons learned trying to globalize its version of the I-Corps program at scale.

Jim Chung, George Washington University
Byung-Jae Kwak, QUI, Inc.
Dong-Yun Kim, Korea Advanced Institute for Science and Technology
Myun Han, Korea Innovation Center
Jongwon (JP) Park, Korea Innovation Center

Track: Global