UNIST has been selected as a partner institution for a project under Horizon Europe , the European Union (EU)'s flagship research and innovation program, further strengthening the university's expanding global research network.

The project, led by the Medical University of Innsbruck (MUI) in Austria, focuses on training next-generation researchers in medical imaging and image-guided therapy. The initiative will run through March 2031 with approximately €1.42 million (KRW 2.2 billion) in EU funding.

Participation by non-European institutions in Horizon Europe projects is highly selective. UNIST and the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) were the only two non-European institutions included in the consortium, underscoring UNIST's growing international research competitiveness and strategic role in global scientific collaboration.

The project was secured through the participation of Professor Yunho Kim from the Department of Mathematical Sciences at UNIST as a co-investigator and will be conducted in collaboration with MUI. As part of the initiative, doctoral researchers from Innsbruck will be dispatched to UNIST for joint research, creating a sustained framework for both collaborative research and researcher exchange.

This selection reflects UNIST's broader efforts to expand participation in Horizon Europe and strengthen international R&D partnerships. In recent years, the university has established a strategic foundation for global collaboration through initiatives including an MOU with TU Wien, expanded support programs for researchers pursuing international grants, and engagement with global R&D experts and institutions.

“This participation in a Horizon Europe project demonstrates the growing global competitiveness of UNIST's international research capabilities,” said UNIST President Chong Rae Park. “We will continue to pursue strategic global partnerships that advance world-class research and innovation.”

Horizon Europe is the EU's largest research and innovation framework program, supporting collaborative research aimed at advancing future technologies and addressing global societal challenges. The program operates with a budget of approximately €95.5 billion for the 2021–2027 period.