Ewha Selected for 2025 National Research Laboratory Program to Pioneer World Class Research Across Disciplines
The Institute for Multiscale Matter and Systems (IMMS) at Ewha Womans University has been selected for the 2025 National Research Laboratory (NRL 2.0) program, a major government grant supported by the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Ministry of Education. The selection reaffirms on a national level Ewha’s long-established world-class research ecosystem and convergence research capabilities, conferring the school with the mission to serve for the next ten years as a research hub for Korea’s national strategic technologies to addresses the challenges of the future.
The NRL 2.0 program was launched in 2025 as a core national strategy initiative for science and technology, with an aim to foster research institutions that reach beyond basic science, toward problem-solving, convergence-driven research addressing complex technological and industrial challenges. Following the call for proposals in April, preliminary and pitch evaluations were carried out, resulting in the selection of four institutes, including Ewha IMMS. Through the NRL 2.0 program, Ewha IMMS will receive a block grant of KRW 10 billion annually for ten years, amounting to a total of KRW 100 billion, and will take the lead in conducting problem-solving, convergence-driven research centered on multiscale materials, addressing issues related to national strategic technologies and various challenges for the mankind.
IMMS’s operation plan comprises technical groups (TG) for basic research, to focus on specialization in the national strategic technologies, and core projects (CP) for application and expansion, aiming at solving Korea’s national challenges; the two branches which will be managed as a matrix structure to simultaneously pursue advancement and expansion in research. Each CP will partner with prominent institutions at Harvard University, ETH Zurich, University College London and other leading universities to expand Ewha’s international collaborative research and to strengthening university-industry collaboration, which will help develop Ewha into an innovative global research platform.
IMMS Director Hoi Ri Moon remarked, “Ewha’s research teams have already produced numerous internationally recognized achievements,” adding, “The decisive factor in Ewha’s selection for NRL 2.0 was the university’s capabilities and potential for growth in advanced technology.” Professor Moon underscored the institute’s vision and strong commitment, saying, “Through convergence research that crosses disciplinary boundaries, we are determined to solve Korea’s national challenges in science and technology.”
Ewha’s selection for NRL 2.0 is a concrete outcome of Ewha’s future strategy. With IMMS at the center of its vision for the future, Ewha will embark on expanding global collaborative research platforms, and on solving challenges while developing new industries related to AI-based precision materials design, climate and energy, advanced semiconductors, and secondary batteries. Through its efforts in research innovation and world-class collaboration to address the challenges of our time, the university plans to evolve into a global research university contributing to scientific and technological advancement beyond Korea.
Ewha President Hyang-Sook Lee issued a message underlining the university’s vision for the project, emphasizing that “the goal of the NRL 2.0 program, which is to pioneer world-class innovative research, aligns perfectly with Ewha’s vision. It will be an opportunity for Ewha’s IMMS, composed of research teams with outstanding capabilities, to grow into a global innovative research institute in material technologies.”
