Overseas Top Research Talent Recruitment: A Winning Strategy... Full-Scale Expansion of Settlement Support to 27 General Universities

The Government will fully expand its full-cycle settlement support programme, which helps attract outstanding overseas research talent to Korea and supports their adaptation to daily life and job-linked transition, to excellent four-year general universities. After a pilot operation focused on the four major science and technology research institutes and government-funded research institutions last year, the plan is to broaden the scope this year to include general research-centred universities, and to begin in earnest the drive to secure global research talent.

The Ministry of Science and ICT said on the 2nd that it will significantly expand and operate the 'Overseas Research Talent Full-Cycle Settlement Support Programme' as part of the 'Brain to Korea' project, which aims to attract outstanding overseas talent. This programme provides comprehensive support—ranging from life-oriented assistance that enables researchers to settle stably after entering the country to help them focus on research, to measures that facilitate the formation of networks—so that overseas researchers can integrate smoothly and concentrate on their work.

Expanded to 27 Universities Under the K-Star Visa... Momentum for an Internationalisation Strategy

The biggest change is the expansion of the target institutions. From this year, it has been broadened significantly from the existing focus on national universities specialised in science and technology to 27 'K-Star Visa Selected Universities'. With major universities such as Seoul National University, Yonsei University and Korea University, as well as key national universities and regional research-centred universities included in large numbers, a fresh signal has been given for each university to advance its internationalisation strategies for foreign research talent.

New Tailored Support from English Psychological Counselling to Employment Internships

The expanded programme runs along three pillars: life-focused support, support for growth and networking, and strengthened access to settlement information. It offers one-to-one expert consulting to help with administrative difficulties such as visas, taxes, legal matters and real estate, as well as 'Local Buddy', an accompanying interpretation service. In particular, to ease stress in an unfamiliar environment, an English psychological counselling service has been newly introduced for professionals working in the science and technology sector and their spouses.

Career development support for foreign talents who have obtained master’s or doctoral degrees in science and engineering fields in Korea will also be strengthened. A new 'Employment Capability-Enhancement Internship' has been established to help them transition into domestic industry sites after completing their studies. In addition, full-cycle education will be delivered, including sharing job-search know-how and conducting mock research projects.

Building a Dedicated Platform in the Second Half of the Year... Kicking Off the Push to Secure Global Talent

Alongside networking programmes for exchanges among researchers, in the second half of this year a dedicated settlement support platform is also expected to be built to integrate scattered settlement information. It will enable people to grasp, at a glance, everything from everyday life information needed right after arrival to academic and job-linkage information.

Individual researchers, universities and research institutions that wish to participate in the programme may apply either directly or as institutions to receive tailored programmes. In university circles, the expansion is expected to greatly reduce the initial adaptation costs for international graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, and it is anticipated that competition to attract outstanding overseas talent will become even fiercer.

Lee Jun-bae, Director of the Future Talent Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Science and ICT, said, "As competition to secure global talent intensifies, the importance of living arrangements that help newcomers settle into Korea’s research environment has grown." He added, "We will provide detailed, close support on the ground so that outstanding overseas talent can face fewer burdens and focus fully on their research."