Dear CKC 2021 Participants, Colleagues and the AKCSE Members:

I trust you are all doing well and are remaining safe.

On behalf of the Organizing Committee members, I am delighted to welcome all the delegates participants to the 2021 Canada - Korea Conference on Science and Technology (CKC2021) organized by the Association of Korean-Canadian Scientists and Engineers (AKCSE) and the Korean Federation of Science and Technology Societies (KOFST). Despite the global disruption caused by COVID-19 in the spring of 2020, I am excited to announce that CKC 2021 will take place on September 1 – 4, 2021 in a hybrid mode (in-person and online), a new approach to meet the new social norm. We are expecting most Canadian participants to be in Halifax, Nova Scotia attending in person, while our Korean participants will mainly join us online, synchronously.

The CKC is a multidisciplinary annual conference that aims to bring together experts and leaders from research institutes, industry, academia, and the governments of Canada and Korea to discuss emerging and future challenges in science, technology, and innovation (ST&I). We want to address these challenges working together. Since the first conference, CKCs have served as a major platform for innovation, cutting-edge technologies, scientific research, and multidisciplinary collaborations and professional networking between Canada and Korea.

This year’s conference theme, “New Opportunities in the New Normal,” highlights a goal shared by both Korea and Canada, and demonstrates new steps taken toward bilateral R&D collaboration between the two countries. In addition, the conference will also showcase and promote discussions and collaborations in artificial intelligence, next-generation energy storage systems, sustainable materials, advanced manufacturing, bio-medical research, nano technology and sensors, aerospace engineering, processing technologies, and clean technologies. For this we have prepared a rich and diverse conference program with Plenary Sessions, STI Forum, SDG brainstorming forums, Research Showcase Sessions, Korean Government Research Institutes R&D programs, Young Generation & Young Professional Conference, WISE (Women in Science and Engineering), Program, a Government Funding Agency Briefing, a FameLab Competition, Poster Presentation Sessions, as well as other events.

In 2011, the AKCSE hosted our first CKC in Vancouver, British Columbia with around 120 participants. In September 2020, we hosted the 10th CKC in Banff, Alberta, Halifax, Nova Scotia, and in Ottawa and Toronto, Ontario, respectively with nearly 600 participants, both online and in person despite the COVID-19 pandemic we were grateful. Without a doubt, the success of this conference ultimately depends on the participation of scientists and engineers, young minds, passionate organizers, and the partner research institutions and industry collaborators. As conference co-chair of the CKC 2021, I would like to thank all participating organizations for their generous support for the conference, and all members of the organizing committee, the local committee, the conference IT committee, and volunteers for their tireless dedication and efforts.

Building on last year’s experience, our conference will be a combination of both in-person and online sessions for the second time. The Organizing Committee will learn from this year’s experience and will further expand future online programs, thus allowing more scientists and engineers to participate in the conference. We will also be improving the quality and quantity of CKC programs. I am grateful to have all of you joining us at this conference, and I wish you all a pleasant and fruitful time in early September 2021 meeting friends and colleagues, as well as forging new collaborations.

Il Yong Kim

President, AKCSE
Conference Co-Chair, CKC2021
Professor, Queen's University