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Two workshops and many trips: The collaboration between Germany and Korea on polar and marine research is proceeding well. Dr Nicole Biebow from the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), a member of the Helmholtz Association stated: "The experience we gained by working together with our Korean partner institutes and the scientists and researchers is seen as positive by all those involved".

Partnership for a steady transfer of knowledge

The AWI is dealing with four Korean partners all at once. Besides the Korea Polar Research Institute (KOPRI), the Korea Ocean Research & Development Institute (KORDI) and the Korea Institute of Geoscience & Mineral Resources (KIGAM), a new partner has now joined, namely the Cheju National University (CNU) with its School of Applied Marine Science. All five partners aim to focus their activities on polar and marine research to establish a steady and consistent exchange of knowledge.

The first of the two workshops was held in Seoul in autumn 2006. AWI invited the partners to come to Bremerhaven for a return visit in May 2007. This already presented an opportunity to sign a cooperation agreement with all the partners at this relatively early stage. Subsequent visits served to initiate the first collaborative projects. The visit to the Korean aquaculture farms was of particular significance. Korea is the world leader in the field of marine aquacultures.

Highly-promising cooperation

Future closer cooperation in the field of logistics in the Antarctic is also a highly promising field for AWI. Korea established a Polar Research Institute in 2004 and is now building a research icebreaker. German teams were also able to support the Korean partners in building a new research station in the west Antarctic. Furthermore, a joint PhD programme and a summer school are planned with the Cheju National University.

Building on the positive experience that had been gained by AWI, the European Polar Board is now also showing an interest and has already been able to recruit KOPRI for a project. The Koreans are contributing to the European INFRAPOLAR initiative to pool and jointly coordinate large-scale polar infrastructure resources.