"GIFT Plan and GGECN for Sustainable Green Growth"
-the Welcoming Remarks & Plenary Speech 
  in ''Construction Ceremony of 'Global Green Energy Cluster Network'''-

Dr. Hyo-Soo LEE

President, Yeungnam University

 <편집자주> 11월 16일 오후 6시, 영남대 천마아트센터 챔버홀에서 그린에너지 분야의 세계적 석학들이 모인 가운데 글로벌 협력을 약속하는 '글로벌 그린에너지 클러스터 네트워크' 구축식이 열린다. 

 이 자리에서 이효수 총장은 '지속가능한 성장을 위한 GIFT 플랜과 GGECN'(GIFT plan & GGECN for Sustainable Green Growth)이라는 제목의 기조강연을 통해 급격한 기후변화에 따른 인류의 위기를 극복하기 위해서는 하루 빨리 전 세계가 친환경 그린에너지 개발에 힘을 모아야 한다고 강조하면서 GGECN의 구축 취지를 설명한다. 

 특히 이 총장은 영남대가 인류의 미래를 위해 추진 중인 'GIFT'(Green Innovation For Tomorrow) 플랜의 3대 추진방향으로 '친환경 그린에너지 자원 및 기술 개발', '기존의 모든산업분야에서의 에너지절감을 위한 기술 개발', '에너지 절약형 소비문화 혁신'을 제시하고 GGECN을 통한 글로벌 협력을 제안한다.

 "GGECN의 구축으로 GIFT 플랜의 초석이 놓아졌으며, 글로벌한 차원에서 그린에너지분야의 정보교류와 연구협력이 가능해질 것"이라고 기대한 이 총장은  "영남대의 GIFT 플랜은 미래 뿐만 아니라 오늘날의 인류에게도 큰 선물이 될 것"이라고 강조한다.  
 
 다음은 이효수 총장의 환영사에 이은 기조강연 전문 
       
 

 Good evening, Ladies and gentlemen!
Distinguished green energy scholars and guests, Welcome to Yeungnam University!

 It is my great pleasure and honor to welcome you all to my campus. I am very happy to be with you in my beautiful campus on this wonderiful day of Korean harvest season.  I am also very proud to be a part of this launching ceremony of the Global Green Energy Cluster Network, or "GGECN," in the presence of world-renowned green energy researchers and scholars from the United States, Germany, France, Australia, and Korea.

 First of all, I’d like to congratulate all of you for having the successful “First International Symposium on Solar Energy Technology,” which was held to commemorate the construction of GGECN.

 I’d like to thank all the organizers of the symposium and this GGECN launching ceremony, and especially Professor Chinho Park, the Director of the Institute of Solar Energy Research, for his superb effort to make these events successful.

 I’d like to thank all the invited speakers from abroad and Korea for delivering excellent talks to the audience:

 From the United States, Director and Professor, Tim Anderson from FESC; Director John Benner from CRSP and NREL; Associate Director, Dr. Aba Ebong

 From Germany, CEO of TUV Rheinland, Korea, Mr. Stefan Heuer;

 From France, Research Director of InESS-CNRS, Univ. of Strasbourg, Dr. Abdelilah Slaoui;

 From Australia, Director and Professor, Richard Corkish from SPREE, Univ. of New South Wales;

 From Korea, Professor Oh Bong Yang from Chonbuk National Univ., and Dr. Je Ha Kim from ETRI 

 My thanks also go to Mr. Rae Woong Chang, the Director of Gyeongbuk Technopark for co-hosting and sponsoring the symposium and the GGECN ceremony. I thank Mr. Sang Han Yoon, the Director of Dae-Gyeong Leading Industry Office for joining the GGECN and sponsoring the symposium. I also congratulate and welcome Mr. Hak Hong Kim from the Province of Gyeongsangbuk-do for his new position as the Head of Job & Economy Headquarters in the Provincial Government and coming to my University today to join the GGECN.

  I can see many esteemed guests here today, including Mr. Sun Up Lee, the Director of Dae-Gyeong Energy & Climate Change Center, Mr. Sang Chul Lee, Chairman & CEO of Millinet Solar, and Dr. Vijay Kapur, the Founder and CEO of International Solar Electric Technology.

 I thank you for coming and joining this ceremony. And I’d like welcome all the audience from Universities & Industries from all around the nation.

 Ladies and gentlemen!

 As the president of Yeungnam University, I am very happy to see this type of international collaboration and exchange among Yeungnam University members and the experts from leading organizations from abroad. And I hope, stronger ties develop between Yeungnam and the institutions of excellence of the world through cooperative effort and friendship. With that, I’d like to now talk about our GIFT plan and GGECN for Sustainable Green Growth

 I can see many esteemed guests here today, including Mr. Sun Up Lee, the Director of Dae-Gyeong Energy & Climate Change Center, Mr. Sang Chul Lee, Chairman & CEO of Millinet Solar, and Dr. Vijay Kapur, the Founder and CEO of International Solar Electric Technology.

 I thank you for coming and joining this ceremony. And I’d like welcome all the audience from Universities & Industries from all around the nation.

 One of the most dangerous challenges to mankind in this century is the "climate change." Scientists have warned that there is now a 75 percent chance that within five years the entire ice cap will completely disappear during the summer months. Polar white bears may devour their young if loss of habitats from the melting ice cap continues. This is a very serious advance warning to mankind from the natural environment. In recent years, the weather has been behaving strangely all over the world, hasn''t it? There seem to be more tornadoes, more Tsunami''s, longer droughts, stronger downpours and one record flood after another. Rising temperatures lead to drier vegetation, making it prone to those mega wild fires that took place in Africa, Australia, Canada, China, Russia and South America. The climate crisis is getting worse, more rapidly than predicted.

 These dangerous challenges stem from our over-reliance on carbon-based fuels. The solution is very clear. It is to develop clean green energy from solar, wind, geothermal power, etc., substituting the carbon-based fuels. Scientists, including world-renowned scholars in this room, often point out that enough solar energy falls on the surface of the earth every 40 minutes to meet 100 percent of the entire world''s energy needs for one full year. Wind power and geothermal energy are capable of providing enormous supplies of electricity for the mankind.

 As Al Gore observed, the quickest, cheapest and best way to start all this renewable energy is in the production of electricity. In fact, we can start right now using solar power, wind power and geothermal power to make electricity for our homes and businesses.

 The problem is the cost of green energy production. A few years ago, green energy production was not economically feasible at all, because the costs were too high. The economics of energy, however, has dramatically changed due to sharp cost reductions in solar, wind and geothermal power production in contrast with the dramatic price increases in crude oil and coal markets in recent years.

 Of course, the costs of green energy production are still very high. However, what we need right now, is "Green Innovation for Tomorrow" to reduce our reliance on carbon-based fuels, in consideration of the climate crisis and the production costs of carbon-based energy and green energy that are expected to move in the opposite direction. When the demand for oil and coal increases, their prices go up, because the reserves will move toward depletion. When the demand for solar cells increases, however, the price will go down, because the resources are infinite, and the technology will improve.

 Early last year, Yeungnam University adopted "YU Glocal Initiative" as its new vision and strategy for the 21st century, envisioning a reborn world-class university that would command love and respect not only from the nation but from the mankind. Under this audacious vision, we will strive to foster not only globalization but also development of a globally competitive knowledge-based society by way of producing working knowledge and Y-type human resources.

 I believe the building of a great university is based on production of working knowledge and Y-type human resources - knowledge workers capable of solving the crisis which mankind has been confronted with. Under this vision of YU Glocal Initiative, therefore, we pursue to implement what we call "The Global Frontier 10-3-10 Project." We will focus on nurturing three target research fields to become part of the top 10 in the world within 10 years. These three converged research frontiers will be pioneered under the GIFT Plan, CVC Plan and H2O Plan.

 Under the GIFT Plan, or Green Innovation For Tomorrow plan, Yeungnam University will pursue to lead converged research for green innovation in order to protect our planet. The University also wants to lead research in CVC, or Cultural Value Creation for a multi-cultural society, pioneering new academic areas such as Convergence Design and Cultural Technology.

 The H2O Plan, or Health and Happiness Oriented Plan, will promote bio-medical research frontiers through convergence of medicine, bio-technology and information technology which we already have.

 Going back to the GIFT Plan, Green Innovation for Tomorrow Plan, it is our vision and hope that ultimately we will be able to prepare gifts for the future of mankind. Now, what is Green Innovation? How do we go about achieving Green Innovation? For green innovation to protect our planet, I think we should pursue it in three directions.

 One direction is to develop green energy from truly clean carbon-free resources such as solar, wind, geothermal or nuclear power. YU already has the Institute of Solar Energy Research, Solar Cell/Module Regional Innovation Center, TUV Rheinland PV Module Testing Center, and Green Energy Education and Research Center, supported by the national government. We have also launched the nation''s first "Major in Green Energy," with 4 year full scholarship and free dormitory benefits. Students in the Major are guaranteed to have jobs at LG Electronics or LG Displays, if they want. So we are already moving along in this direction.

  Another direction we should pursue for green innovation is to develop energy-saving technology in industries. YU has the LED-IT Convergency Industrializing Center, and the Green Car Parts Institute. So we are already moving right along in this direction, too.

  The third direction for green innovation is to promote energy-saving consumption revolution. YU will initiate a campaign for energy-saving consumption to citizens in Korea.

  We are very aware that the GIFT plan, which aims at green energy revolution, energy-saving technology development as well as energy-saving consumption revolution, is a big challenge. But the plans are implementable and the goals are achievable if we can work together with scientists, scholars, engineers, innovators, business leaders, politicians and consumers from around the world. We should act right now for the GIFT plan, because we don''t have enough time to protect ourselves and to protect our planet from the Tsunami of climate crisis.

  That's why I'm proposing today "GGECN," Global Green Energy Cluster Network for sustainable green growth of the world. I think the GIFT plan will be a great gift for both today's and tomorrow's generation of mankind through exchange of ideas, sharing of information and research collaboration within this framework of "GGECN." Now, we are about to lay the foundation for a great platform for our GIFT plan to protect our planet. I feel this is a moment of historical significance and, therefore, I feel all the more grateful and honored with your presence here.

  Lastly, I hope scholars from abroad will have a pleasant and enjoyable time during the rest of your stay on this campus and in Korea.

  Thank you very much.

  2011.11.16