Hanyang University ERICA (President Lee Ki-jeong) announced on June 2 that it has been officially selected for the 2025 Regional Innovation System & Education (RISE) program, jointly operated by the Ministry of Education and Gyeonggi Province. ERICA will participate as a general university track institution under Type I: Future Growth Industry Leadership. The university is set to receive a total of 20 billion KRW in national and local funding over the next five years, including 4 billion KRW in the first year.

The RISE initiative, led by the Ministry of Education, decentralizes university support authority to regional governments, promoting a collaborative and autonomous innovation ecosystem between local governments and universities. Gyeonggi Province has presented the vision of becoming a “global innovation capital powered by university-industry-government collaboration,” establishing four key projects and 16 detailed tasks. Out of 75 universities in the region, 50—including 25 general universities and 25 junior colleges—were selected to carry out the program.

For this RISE program, ERICA has laid out the vision of “Strengthening regional innovation and academic-industrial-research (AIR) clusters to lead sustainable, inclusive growth in future industries.” The university plans to implement the project using its own innovation model, HY-RISE.

Notably, ERICA has built a solid local cooperation framework with municipalities such as Ansan and Gwangmyeong, strengthening connections through problem-solving projects, entrepreneurship support, and lifelong learning initiatives. Building on its “Gap-Closing Academic-Industrial Alliance (GAIA),” the university aims to promote both technological advancement in future growth industries (G7) and the cultivation of practical talent in local industries such as digital content and culture (GX).

Choi Jee-woong, director of the ERICA RISE Academic-Industrial Cooperation Division, stated, “Through the RISE program, ERICA will return its university-industry-government collaboration infrastructure and field-based education capabilities to the local community, fostering a sustainable innovation system.” He added, “We will take the lead in building a foundation for mutual growth between universities and regions, serving as a hub for collaboration in Gyeonggi Province’s future growth industries (G7) and regional industries (GX).”