40 years ago in 1979, a university building was built on land made from mudflats near the west coast of Korea. No one could have imagined that, on such a barren and remote location, the university’s dream would become a reality, but now -- everyone has taken notice of Hanyang University’s ERICA Campus as a role model for the Korean industry-academic cooperation. We would like to introduce the ERICA Campus, and how it is expected to change in the future.
 
 Discovering the keys to winning a competition through cooperation 
 
The method that has been gaining major attention for companies as a means of surviving fierce competition has, ironically, been labeled as cooperation. ‘Hyper-Co-operation’ emerged from the term cooperative competition (Coopetition = Cooperation + Competition), which means to go beyond mere cooperation by taking the hand of anyone for survival.  It is only plausible that the traditional method of companies independently solving problems aligned with the fast pace of technological transformation carries limitations, and the decision made by companies at this point is “cooperate with universities.”

There are many instances in which companies from developed nations like the United States and Germany achieved successful industrial innovation in cooperation with companies.  In the 1980s, Harvard Medical School (Hoechst A.G.), the University of Washington (Monsanto), and MIT (Exon) received attention by creating innovation through industry-academic cooperation.  Recently GE, Siemens, Rolls-Royce, IBM, Amazon, Google, and Uber are innovating by utilizing universities as key players, and global companies are strengthening the development of cooperative relationships by transferring laboratories inside the school or creating memberships with universities.
  
How is industry-academic cooperation in Korea? 
What is the situation like in Korea where foreign countries are strengthening partnerships with universities amid such rapid changes? Recently, there has been an emphasis on industry-academic cooperation as a means to create new innovations, but the actual level of cooperation in Korea is still insufficient. Only 2.8 percent voluntarily pushed for industrial-academic cooperation without government support, and there are statistics that the technology fee income against research development costs is at 1.2 percent, compared with 3.4 percent in the U.S. Despite such a poor domestic environment, there is a university that leads the flow of industrial-academic cooperation in Korea. That is Hanyang University’s ERICA Campus.  
 
The ERICA Campus of Hanyang University, located in the Ansan area of the Seoul metropolitan region of Korea, currently hosts more than 200 industry and research institutes on campus, and more than 2,000 companies have joined the family business to form an organic network. The 'corporate membership program' introduced by leading universities abroad was optimized for the ERICA Campus and introduced for the first time in Korea. This program is called EP (ERICA Partners). In addition, 260 companies participate in field trials to foster practical individuals with on-the-job training, so that this role is not neglected as an educational institution.
 
In particular, this growth has accelerated this year on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Campus, achieving the success of being selected for all three key industrial-academic cooperation projects by the government. As one of the new models for the government to create innovative growth engines, the ERICA Campus has now set the stage for the development of a world-class industrial-academic cooperation cluster, which will proceed beyond the domestic level, in line with the intensive investment of industrial-academic cooperation projects. 
   
The ERICA Campus will evolve as the center of a future oriented city beyond imagination. 
 
The reason behind the government's selection of major projects is that it has been recognized for its outstanding achievements in industry-academic cooperation, but it can also be interpreted for highlighting the potential for future development. The ERICA Campus is outlining the big picture
on the process of achieving the vision of national development beyond just the growth of the university.

  
The original dream envisioned for Hanyang University’s ERICA Campus is even clearer now. The Ansan Science Valley, centered on Hanyang University's ERICA Campus, will be developed into a youth-friendly city where one can enjoy all of the high-tech industry, residential amenities, the culture, and leisure activities, making this, a perfect model for a future-oriented city. In addition, a large new town with a total size of 20,000 households is being created within only a 10 minute walking distance from campus, and the development of ‘Smart City’ is planned as a demonstration of the high-tech residential complex on the site opposite the university. The international theme park complex development project is being carried out on 4.18 million square meters of land within a 2km radius of the campus, and the private sector is expected to invest 4.5 trillion won (4 billion USD) in total budget into the cultural leisure industry. The site will be built with world-class theme parks, as well as high-end hotels and resorts, golf courses, complex shopping malls and premium outlets. From the excellent residential conditions provided through the creation of such industrial-residential-culture complex, the inflow of young people is expected and will be developed into one of the premier urban centers for youths representing the Republic of Korea. One cannot help but notice the ERICA campus of Hanyang University, a university oriented toward the future that will grow with the region and drive future industries.