June 20, 2023 — CSC – IT Center for Science and Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information (KISTI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to promote collaboration in the fields of high-performance computing (HPC), quantum computing, research data management and Arctic connectivity. The MoU enables joint development of competences via promoting research collaboration between Finland and South Korea utilizing advanced research infrastructures, as well as information exchange, sharing best practices and solutions in data life-cycle management and platforms, and promoting Arctic connectivity for research communities.

“South Korea is a rising, influential actor in the field of science and technology, as shown by the EU’s efforts towards closer cooperation,” commented Kimmo Koski, Managing Director of CSC. “We share many of our ambitions with KISTI, and the collaboration helps CSC ensure that we stay at the cutting edge of technology globally. This MoU enables us to discuss future roadmaps of developing services for research and plan ahead engagements in EU-funded projects with our South Korean colleagues to provide the best possible services to the Finnish research community.”

“CSC and KISTI are institutes with a common mission in supercomputing, research networks and data. KISTI is currently preparing a 600 PetaFlops supercomputer and is also involved in quantum computing. We are delighted to be collaborating with CSC, a European leader in both supercomputing and quantum computing. We believe that this MoU will enable a wide range of collaborations, which will be of great mutual benefit,” stated Jaesoo Kim, President of KISTI.

The signing took place during the Finland-Republic of Korea Joint Committee Meeting. The Joint Committee Meetings allow representatives from each country to discuss recent national developments in S&T policy, as well as mutually explore potential areas for collaboration. On behalf of the national communities, CSC and KISTI presented topics related to supercomputing and quantum computing, and the MoU was signed at the end of the event.

The MoU also leverages the EU-South Korea political framework for cooperation in research and digital technologies. The EU’s Indo-Pacific Strategy aims to deepen engagement with partners in the Indo-Pacific region under which a European Union–Republic of Korea Digital Partnership was signed in November 2022. South Korea has also entered formal negotiations to become an associated country to the EU’s Horizon Europe funding program at the end of May 2023.

About CSC

CSC is the national provider of data management and computing services for research in Finland and hosts LUMI, the fastest supercomputer in the EU. CSC is also heavily involved in various strategic European and Nordic initiatives in the field of open science, research data management, and research and education networks, such as the European Open Science Cloud, EUDAT, NORDUnet and GÉANT.

About KISTI

KISTI is the legally designated national supercomputing centre of South Korea that provides supercomputing and network services for research in South Korea and participates in various international cooperation projects. KISTI also heads the implementation of the country’s data management and open science policies via for instance their DataOn service and the Korea Research Data Commons, a national platform to gather and share research data. Within Europe, KISTI is collaborating with for instance CERN, EPCC, GÉANT, SURF, NORDUnet, UNESCO, and OpenAIRE.

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Source: CSC