22nd April, KU, Dhulikhel

Integrated Rural Development Project/Nepal Technology Innovation Centre (IRDP/NTIC) of Kathmandu University held the Inauguration Ceremony of its Second Phase on 22nd April, 2021 at KU, Dhulikhel. The main purpose of the event was to officially launch the second phase in presence of the Project Management Consulting- Jenobuk National University, Korea and KOICA Nepal. The ceremony began with the opening remarks by Team Leader, Prof. Dr. Bim Prasad Shrestha in which He highlighted the structure of second phase of NTIC. It was then followed by congratulatory remarks and key note addresses from Prof. Dr. Gi Hwan Cho, the Executive Vice President for Research from JBNU, Mr. Sunghoon Ko, the Country Director of KOICA Nepal and Prof. Inho Hwang, the Project Manager from PMC. After the brief introduction of PMC's experts including Ms.Ujin Shim, the In-Residence Expert, the Program Leads from Nepal presented the 7 support programs- Research and Business Development, Testing and Accreditation, Smart Health, School Based Enterprise, Start-up & Incubation, Education & Training, and Technology Database & Networking. Likewise, the corresponding PMC experts presented the Consultation and Monitoring Plan of these programs for Second Phase.

The highlight of the event was the signing ceremony for Fund Transfer Agreement between PMC, KU, KOICA and NTIC. With the brief suggestions on implementation of the IRDP/ NTIC activities for second phase from KOICA Nepal, the program was formally closed by the Registrar of KU, Prof. Dr. Subodh Sharma. He shared the lessons learnt and the achievements of the First phase. On behalf of KU, he conveyed the commitment to and trust on the project to make the second phase even more successful in contributing to the integrated rural development of Nepal.