Ghent University Global Campus President Han Tae-jun (right) and Korea Food Industry Cluster Agency Chairman Kim Deok-ho pose for a photo after signing the MOU on Monday. [Korea Food Industry Cluster Agency]
Ghent University Global Campus President Han Tae-jun (right) and Korea Food Industry Cluster Agency Chairman Kim Deok-ho pose for a photo after signing the MOU on Monday. [Korea Food Industry Cluster Agency]

Ghent University Global Campus has established a cooperation framework with the Korea Food Industry Cluster Agency to develop future food ingredients and foster the food technology industry.

The campus signed a memorandum of understanding with the agency Monday to advance food industry technology and expand global joint research.

Under the agreement, the two institutions will pursue joint research and development in the global food industry and work to identify new business models.

They also plan to share technology and information for converting functional food ingredients into marketable products, jointly use research equipment and testing facilities, and support product development and scale-up.

The partners will also co-run education programs, workshops and seminars to train food industry professionals, and strengthen industry-academia-research collaboration.

The partnership, grounded in marine biotech research, is expected to yield globally competitive results in areas such as functional foods using K-seaweed and next-generation food ingredient development.

"Combining the Korea Food Industry Cluster Agency's leadership in driving innovation in South Korea's food industry with Ghent University's capabilities in life sciences, biotech and marine research will strengthen our competitiveness in sustainable food technology and future food ingredients," Ghent University Global Campus President Han Tae-jun said. "We will jointly pursue a range of research and development projects — including processed foods using K-seaweed — and deliver results in the global market."


gilbert@heraldcorp.com