Industry-Academia-Research Collaborative R&D
Connects Korean startups, universities, and industry through joint development programs to co create practical technology solutions.
⚠ This may reflect a past cycle — verify the current call on the funder's site.
Industry-Academia-Research Collaborative R&D (산학연 Collabo R&D) is a Stage 2 commercialization grant programme administered by TIPA under Korea's Ministry of SMEs and Startups. It funds joint R&D conducted by Korean SMEs in partnership with universities or government-affiliated research institutes, specifically targeting projects that have already completed Stage 1 preliminary research in 2025. The programme offers two award tiers: the General type provides up to KRW 260 million (approximately USD 188,000) per project for an SME collaborating with a single university or research partner, with a maximum project duration of two years; the Consortium type bundles two to four general-type projects together and supports a total award of up to KRW 1,040 million (approximately USD 753,000).
The 2026 Round 1 application window ran January 26 – February 12 via the SMTECH portal. To qualify as lead applicant, an SME must be registered under the Small and Medium Enterprise Basic Act and must maintain either an in-house research institute or a formally designated R&D department — SMEs without institutional R&D capacity are not eligible. Universities and research institutes participate as partner organisations rather than lead applicants. The consortium format requires a coordinating SME to aggregate multiple compatible projects, each with its own university or research institute partner, into a single consortium submission.
All applications are submitted in Korean via SMTECH, with supporting documentation through the IRIS system. TIPA's evaluation process uses a 30,000-strong expert evaluator pool. Given that Stage 2 is only open to projects with confirmed Stage 1 completion, SMEs should ensure their 2025 preliminary research records are documented and accessible before applying. The next annual cycle is expected around January 2027; applicants should monitor SMTECH for the upcoming announcement notice.
Funds commercialization R&D conducted by Korean SMEs in partnership with universities or research institutes, supporting both individual projects (up to KRW 260M) and multi-project consortia (up to KRW 1.04B).
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