Bridging Lab and Market: Sogang’s TRL Jump-Up
On March 25, Sogang University's Research & Business Development Foundation hosted an information session at Hotel Naru for small and mid-sized enterprises interested in the Public-Private Joint Technology Commercialization R&D program, known as TRL Jump-Up. Over 100 company representatives and researchers attended — a strong turnout for a first session — reflecting broad industry interest in the initiative.
The TRL Jump-Up program is a public-private joint R&D scheme designed to raise the Technology Readiness Level of high-complexity, early-stage technologies in national strategic sectors and carry them through to commercialization. In December 2025, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups selected Sogang University and KAIST as the two operational support institutions for the program, with approximately 2.9 billion KRW allocated per institution. Sogang began operations in January 2026.
Under the program, Sogang supports two stages: Phase 1 project planning and Phase 2 commercialization R&D. The Foundation is building a full-cycle support structure covering technology development, commercialization, and post-project performance management.
At the session, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and TIPA (Korea Technology and Information Promotion Agency for SMEs) outlined the program's objectives and application requirements. Sogang then presented Request for Proposal (RFP) documents selected for their technological differentiation and commercialization potential, followed by an in-depth Q&A on proposal writing.
Professor Hongseok Kim, head of the TRL Jump-Up initiative and Vice President of the Research & Business Development Foundation, described the program's aim as ensuring that promising laboratory technologies are not abandoned before reaching the market: "We will commit fully to full-cycle support so that high-potential technologies can find their place in actual industrial settings."
Sogang has indicated it will continue working closely with the Ministry and TIPA to lower participation barriers for companies and strengthen the support infrastructure for technology-driven commercialization.