Three universities in the Gyeongsangbuk-do region have been selected as best practice examples at the "2026 Anchor Innovation Performance & Challenge Regional Innovation Case Competition" hosted by the National Research Foundation of Korea.

Yeungnam University won the Grand Prize (Minister of Education Award), while Daegu Haany University and POSTECH (Pohang University of Science and Technology) received the Top Excellence Award and Encouragement Award, respectively.

The competition was held to discover and disseminate cases where universities and local communities collaborated to build a development ecosystem and drive mutual growth. It was divided into three categories and nine sectors—including Anchor-Festival, Anchor-Challenge, and Anchor-AI Solution—ultimately selecting 36 best practices from entries nationwide.

Key Achievements by University

Yeungnam University (Grand Prize - Anchor-Festival / Signature Project Category): Recognized for its initiative, "Building a Cell Culture Industrialization Complex through Industry-Academia-Research Cooperation." Centered around its cell culture research institute, Yeungnam University partnered with Gyeongsangbuk-do, Uiseong-gun, regional universities (including Kyungpook National, Daegu Catholic, Daegu, and Daegu Haany universities), and related companies to establish a cell culture industry hub. Achievements include building the 70,000-pyeong Uiseong Bio Valley General Industrial Complex, the Gyeongsangbuk-do Cell Culture Industry Support Center, and a cell culture media GMP production facility, alongside attracting nine companies such as Sempio Foods, T-Ribos, and Neocrema.

Daegu Haany University (Top Excellence Award - Anchor-Festival / Regional Issue Resolution Category): Recognized for establishing the "Pre-Do-Post Support System for Recovery from Wildfire Damage in Yeongdeok-gun." Following massive wildfire damage in Yeongdeok-gun, the university organized a disaster recovery support team operating across three stages: Pre-recovery (Pre), Livelihood Stability & Economic Vitality (Do), and Everyday Recovery (Post). It provided Korean medicine hospital medical support and psychological counseling, while operating a regional settlement program involving 280 students across 13 departments. The university successfully linked its professional expertise to local disaster recovery through initiatives such as the Yeongdeok International H-Wellness Festa and the opening of the Yeongdeok Local Campus.

POSTECH (Encouragement Award - Anchor-Challenge / Challenge Case Category): Recognized for "Building a Regional Settlement-Oriented SW Startup Ecosystem through the Glocal Hackathon (Junction Asia)." In cooperation with Gyeongsangbuk-do, Pohang City, and Finland's Junction headquarters, POSTECH successfully hosted the main event license outside the Seoul metropolitan area for three consecutive years. Junction Asia brought together 800 participants from 21 countries who formed 63 teams to develop technologies solving local challenges and corporate problems.

Lee Sang-soo, Director General of Local Government Strategy at Gyeongsangbuk-do Province, stated, "This award is the result of Gyeongsangbuk-do universities collaborating with local governments to create tangible outcomes in resolving regional issues and driving industrial innovation. We will continue to discover models where universities and local regions grow together based on the anchor system."

Park Dae-hyun, Director of the Gyeongsangbuk-do Anchor Center, added, "This is the fruit of industry-academia-research cooperation that universities in the province have cultivated. We will strive to share these achievements and provide follow-up support so that these best practices can spread to other universities and regions."

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