[Photo Description 2] Participants at the sponsorship agreement ceremony (from left): Jung-woo Sung, President of the Korea Foundation for the Advancement of Science and Creativity; Seung-ho Yoo, Executive Vice President of Samsung Biologics; and Jae-ho Shim, President of the Korean Society of Biology Education, sign the agreement and pose for a commemorative photo. Courtesy of the Korea Foundation for the Advancement of Science and Creativity.

Sponsorship agreement ceremony for fostering the South Korean national team for the International Biology Olympiad. Courtesy of the Korea Foundation for the Advancement of Science and Creativity.

Samsung Bioepis and Samsung Biologics have decided to sponsor the South Korean national team for this year’s International Biology Olympiad. Following the first-ever case of private corporate sponsorship for the International Science Olympiad last year, a growing number of prominent domestic companies are participating in sponsoring the national teams. This sponsorship is expected to not only provide significant financial support to the teams but also to be highly effective in fostering STEM talent by instilling a sense of pride from their school days. 

 

The Korea Foundation for the Advancement of Science and Creativity (KOFAC) announced on the 8th that it has signed a ‘Sponsorship Agreement for Fostering the South Korean National Team for the International Biology Olympiad’ with Samsung Bioepis, Samsung Biologics, and the Korean Society of Biology Education. 

 

In June of last year, Samsung Electronics and Hanwha Life became the first private companies to sponsor the International Science Olympiad, aiming to raise social awareness of the importance of basic science and contribute to nurturing STEM talent.  

 

The Device Solutions (DS) Division of Samsung Electronics sponsored the International Mathematical Olympiad team, while the Device eXperience (DX) Division sponsored the International Physics Olympiad team. Hanwha Life sponsored the International Olympiad in Informatics team. Samsung Electronics and Hanwha Life are reportedly considering renewing their support for the International Science Olympiad this year as well. 

 

Last year’s corporate sponsorship of the International Science Olympiad teams was shown to have improved the quality of the teams’ training and helped STEM talents develop pride in their abilities being socially recognized. 

 

Ho-Seok Yoo, a professor at Sejong University and head of the South Korean team for last year’s International Mathematical Olympiad, said, “Thanks to corporate sponsorship, the educational environment, including venues, improved, which led to an increase in the number of participating students.” He added, “Amid a strong trend of STEM talents choosing medical school, the sponsorship of the Math Olympiad by a major corporation like Samsung Electronics gives students who want to continue studying mathematics a sense of pride and stability, signaling that ‘my path is also recognized by society.'” 

 

The growing importance of securing STEM talent appears to be a key factor behind the expansion of these sponsorships, driven by the recognition that promising individuals must be discovered and supported from an early age.

 

An official from Samsung Bioepis explained, “This Olympiad sponsorship is an extension of our ongoing industry-academia cooperation activities for STEM talent.” They added, “We determined that to foster future core industries, including the bio-industry, it is necessary to discover and support outstanding talent early on.” 

 

One STEM professor commented, “While corporate support for talent has traditionally focused on graduate students or scholarship recipients, there is a growing awareness that talent needs to be nurtured from an even earlier stage, and I expect corporate sponsorship for Olympiads to increase.” They added, “The judgment is that if a talent pool isn’t formed at the middle and high school levels, the entire flow of talent into universities and graduate schools could weaken.”

 

Corporate sponsorship for the International Science Olympiad is particularly significant as it comes amid a domestic atmosphere of declining support and interest in Olympiads. The Ministry of Education currently prohibits recording out-of-school awards on student records, personal statements, or teacher recommendation letters to prevent excessive competition for building qualifications. 

 

Overseas, companies are actively sponsoring their national or international science Olympiads to secure talent. For the International Mathematical Olympiad, official sponsors include the American market-making trading firm Jane Street, Google, and Huawei. Some companies even set up recruitment booths at the Olympiad venues to actively recruit talent. 
 

Copyright ⓒ DongA Science. All rights reserved.