Dear CKC 2018 Participants, Colleagues and the AKCSE Members:

On behalf of the Organizing Committee members, we are delighted to welcome all the delegates and their guests to Vancouver, Canada, for the 2018 Canada-Korea Conference on Science and Technology (CKC 2018), jointly organized by the Association of Korean-Canadian Scientists and Engineers (AKCSE), and the Korean Federation of Science and Technology Societies (KOFST).

CKC is a multidisciplinary annual conference that aims to bring together experts and leaders from academia, industry, research institutes and the governments of Canada and Korea to discuss up-to-date challenges in science, technology, and innovation (ST&I) and how we can address the challenges together. Since its first conference, CKCs have served as a major platform for not only networking with professionals from diverse areas of science and technology but also nurturing cutting-edge thoughts and exploring fruitful collaboration opportunities on research and development between Canada and Korea.

Currently, the two countries are on a steady path to success through win-win cooperation in ST&I. The bilateral relations were enhanced by the establishing of Strategic Partnership in 2014 and accelerated by the Korea-Canada Free Trade Agreement in 2015. The STI Cooperation Agreement that sets the framework for substantial cooperation in these areas was signed in December 2016 and has been in effect since May 2017. In December 2017, the first Joint Committee meeting and forum were held in Seoul, Korea. This year’s conference theme “Ingenuity: The 4th Industrial Revolution” will underpin the importance of fostering bilateral R&D collaboration between the two countries. For this, we have prepared rich and diverse conference programs such as the 2nd Canada-Korea Strategic ST&I Cooperation Roundtable Forum” as a CKC 2018 flagship forum, British Columbia (BC)-Korea Government Research Institutes (KGRIs) R&D Brainstorming Forum, Open and Institutional Research Day Program, Young Generation/Young Professional Program, Women in Science and Engineering sessions, Global Technology Forum, Canada-Korea University Fair, Technical and Poster sessions, and many more.

Seven years ago, we hosted our 1st CKC in Vancouver with around 120 participants. Last year in Montréal, Québec, we hosted the CKC with nearly 600 participants in 24 sessions. Without a doubt, the true success of this conference ultimately depends on the participation of scientists and engineers, young minds, the organizers, and the sponsoring research institutions and industry partners. As conference co-chairs of the CKC 2018, we thank all sponsoring organizations and companies for the generous support for the conference, and all members of the organizing committee and the local conference committee for their tireless dedication and efforts.

We are grateful to have all of you joining us at this conference, and we wish a pleasant and fruitful time in Vancouver, located in the beautiful Canadian Pacific Coast in June 2018.

Sincerely yours,

Gap Soo Chang
Conference Co-Chair and the 21^st President of the AKCSE

Jeong Woo Kim
Conference Co-Chair and 22^nd President-Elect of AKCSE