Hanyang University’s Industrial Cluster supports the campus specializing enterprises, international cooperation enterprises, education and research development enterprises, and cluster infrastructure building enterprises. Due to its firm ground and progress, Hanyang Industrial Cluster has set the ideal form for clusters at other universities in Korea. Despite such superiority, Hanyang University plans to further enhance the competitiveness for further development in infrastructure, allocating instant attention from society. The name of such change is ERICA (Education Research Industry Complex of Ansan) or ERC Research Institute for Integrated Human Sensing System. On January 21st, at the Ansan Campus of Hanyang University, the Opening Ceremony for the ERC Research Institute for Integrated Human Sensing System and Academic Debate Conference took place. High expectations for the ERICA, such as increasing the research competitiveness of Hanyang and the international reputation of Korea, gathered automatic attention from the media.

On January 21st, at Hanyang University’s Ansan Campus Guest House Conference Hall, the Establishment Ceremony for the ERC Research Institute for Integrated Human Sensing System and Academic Debate Conference was held. From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., the event was divided into two periods; first being the Opening Ceremony for ERICA and the second being the Academic Debate Session. The ceremony was chaired by Professor Joo Je-Bum (Department of Chemistry and Applied Chemistry), Vice-Director for the ERC Research Center. It was followed by Professor Lee Eun-Gyu’s (Department of Chemical Engineering, director of the ERICA) introduction of the center, Kim Jong-Ryang’s (president of Hanyang University) opening speech, Yoo Dong-Ryeol’s (director of Creative-Economy of Ansan City) encouragement speech, and Park Hang-Sick’s (director of Basic Science Supporting of the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology) greeting speech, in that order.

President Kim Chong-Ryang announced “We need intelligence and true effort to overcome this crisis to turn it into a chance for further development for our country. One of the projects for further international development and momentum, Universities should perform creative research projects and relate it corporation’s Entrepreneurship and further develop innovative products and lead this to an international brand to increase industrial competitiveness. I believe ERICA, will be the starting point for such grand-goal.”

The second period, the Academic Debate Session, was chaired by Professor Kim In-San (Kyoungpook National University). Dr. Park Young-Hoon, Director of Korea Research Institute of Bioscience & Biotechnology, presented ‘Bio-Fusion Technology and Industrial Development Projects’ to the audience and was continued by Professor Yoon Bang-Boo’s, Vice President of Gachon University of Medicine and Science, presentation regarding ‘The Medical Profession’s Proposal for the Medicine & Technology Field’. The event was linked by Professor Lee Gun-Woo’s, Director of Fusion Technology of Seoul National University, presentation ‘Introduction to Fusion Technology and Development Strategy’ and Ahn Hyun-Shil’s, Editorialist for The Korea Economic Daily, topic ‘High Tech Convergence Technology and Nation Competitiveness’.

Another added pride to Hanyang University, the ERC Research Center is supported by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, and diverse Korean Universities’ intelligence have volunteered under their concentrated-major fields, and ERC Research Center hopes to breed internationally approved scientists. ERICA has set its final goal to develop an integrated system for early diagnosis and future predictions of diseases. It further hopes to develop a new level of diagnosing technology which could specialize in heart blood related disease & cancer related diseases with an upgraded level of rapidity and credibility.

The ERC for Integrated Human Sensing System has four-main goals for the next seven-years. First, it aims to register over four-hundred SCI Articles and over sixty-patents. Secondly, it desires to produce over 120 Master Degree and 40 Doctor Degree Associates. Thirdly, it hopes to earn international cooperation & research projects with UK’s Imperial College, Japan’s Tokyo Institute of Technology, Shizuoka Cancer Center, and Chinese Academy of Science. Lastly, through industry-academic cooperation foundation’s efforts, the ERC Center hopes to increase its productivity in its products through the partnerships among universities and corporations. Professor Lee, the Director of ERICA, said “accordingly to the unanimous support, we will try our best to become one of the world’s finest research centers. We set goals to give professors all time support with no restrictions to their projects and result-oriented fusion-researches through organizational managements.”

Professor Joo, Vice Director of the Research Center, announced “currently the Ansan Campus of Hanyang University has one of the finest Medicine Related Fusion Education & Research bases Infrastructures. By adding ERICA, we could now perform practical fusion-based technology research in the future. We set our goals to make ERICA a Center with Bio-nano Fusion Technology’s equipment, intelligence, research infrastructure to become the best specialist group in the nation”.