The 4th Directors Council Meeting of IBS, held at Phoenix Island in Jeju from February 25 to 26, discussed important agenda items related to research and operation of IBS and shared important issues at Centers.

The IBS president, directors, relevant team and division heads attended and discussed several topics, including: nurturing future research leaders, measures to handle retirement or research cessation of principal investigators, user fees for Center equipment, subsidies for host institutions, commemorative events for the 5th anniversary of IBS and important issues at Centers.

The president opened the meeting with an introduction of Jinwoo Cheon, director of the Center for Nanomedicine at Yonsei University. Professor Cheon expressed his excitement at joining IBS in a short speech. With the addition of the Center, IBS is expected to present new possibilities of interdisciplinary research by exploring new nanomaterials and interfaces between nanomaterials and biological systems. The president went on to share news about construction of the new IBS HQ, the passage of the Tenure Review Rules and issues related to the Center selection procedures.

The first day discussions were mainly focused on the plans to nurture research leaders for the next generation. Directors reached a general consensus that the existing Young Scientist Program should be improved by allotting more research independence and a flexibility regarding the budget for Young Scientists. They also agreed that establishing systems with distinctive merits over other institutions would be key to recruiting qualified leaders for small, independent research units, also called Pioneer Research Units (PRUs), when a new Center is launched at IBS HQ. “Nurturing talented researchers for the next generation is one of the major duties of IBS. Young researchers need research environments where they can realize their potential,” said the president.

After these discussions, a special meeting was held with Assistant Minister Jae-Moon Park of the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning. Minister Park promised “the government will make efforts to create more flexibility in the operation of IBS Centers and to minimize administrative burden of researchers,” he went on, “trust in researchers is more important than anything else.

On the second day, commemorative events for the 5th anniversary of IBS were announced: celebrations will be held for two days from November 17 to 18 with various international conferences to attract researchers and attendees from major research institutes across the world. Going beyond a mere celebration of the foundation of IBS, the events are expected to serve as an opportunity to reaffirm the determination of the scientific community to contribute to humanity through basic science.

Calm but intense two-day discussions were successfully concluded with a new momentum for IBS strategies to nurture future research leaders. The next Directors Council Meeting will be held on May 27 at IBS HQ in Daejeon.