Government support to improve the research environment for science and engineering graduate students and to help stabilize their living conditions has officially begun. The Ministry of Science and ICT announced on July 1 that the 'Research Life Encouragement Fund for Science and Engineering' support project, being implemented in collaboration with the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF), started distributing funds at the end of last month, focusing on participating universities.
This program provides 800,000 won a month for master's students and 1.1 million won a month for doctoral students. The key purpose is to reduce economic burdens and provide an environment in which students can focus on their research.
The project will be implemented with a total scale of 979 billion won from this year until 2033, with 60 billion won allocated for this year alone. The government is encouraging participating universities to establish a system for centrally managing student labor costs through industry-academia collaboration organizations and is promoting stable monthly payments.
A total of 29 universities selected through an open call in the first half of this year are participating, with 14 universities, including Yonsei University and Pusan National University, already completing operational consulting, and some beginning to distribute the allowances from the end of June. The government plans to continue supporting the remaining universities to begin distributions as soon as possible. About 50,000 science and engineering graduate students are expected to benefit this year.
In the second half of the year, recruitment of new participating universities will also begin. Applications will be accepted until the 21st, and selected universities will receive allowances after undergoing detailed operational plan consulting. Details can be checked through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) website.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Science and ICT is also working on institutional improvements to facilitate the smooth establishment of the program. Currently, the methods of labor cost payments vary by university and funding source, leading to administrative confusion. Therefore, the government plans to seek a standard model to improve this situation. Additionally, they are actively communicating through the preparation of operational guidelines for the project, holding information sessions for participating universities, and distributing frequently asked questions (FAQs).
Hong Soon-jung, director of the Future Talent Policy Bureau, noted, "The core of the Research Life Encouragement Fund for Science and Engineering project is to unify the fragmented student researcher support structure that was previously managed separately by projects and assignments at the university level. As the government and universities will prepare for crisis situations in their respective research labs together, it is expected that a more challenging research culture will spread in university settings, and we will continue to provide unwavering support to ensure a stable transition to the new system."