On 10 September 2025, the University of Silesia hosted a meeting of the university authorities with representatives of the Korean concern SK IE Technology—one of the global leaders in the lithium-ion battery production industry—and its subsidiary based in Dąbrowa Górnicza: SK hi-tech Battery Materials Poland.
During the meeting, Sang-min Lee, SK IE Technology CEO, and Prof. Ryszard Koziołek, Rector of the University of Silesia, signed an agreement between SK and the University of Silesia, which will be the basis for cooperation in establishing the USil-SK Engineering Research Laboratory at the newly emerging Silesian Interdisciplinary Centre for Chemistry.
The laboratory, consolidating modern research and teaching infrastructure intended for materials research in the fields of biomedical engineering, materials science, chemistry and physics, will focus primarily on calorimetric research. As Prof. Mirosław Chorążewski, Deputy Dean for Science and International Cooperation at the Faculty of Science and Technology, emphasised during the meeting, this type of laboratory will be the first of its type not only in Poland but also in Europe.
SK hi-tech Battery Materials Poland has declared a grant of PLN 2,150,000 for the establishment of this innovative research unit.
Prof. Ryszard Koziołek, sharing his gratitude for the company’s readiness to cooperate and provide support, drew attention to the specificity of South Korea as a country extremely rich in the areas of both technology and popular culture, i.e. spheres that are of interest to today’s youth, including future and current students of the University of Silesia. He also expressed his appreciation to Chang-il You, PhD, Head of the Centre for Poland-South Korea Cooperation at the University of Silesia, for his involvement in fostering relations between Korea and the University of Silesia.
Sang-Min Lee, CEO of SK IE Technology, the parent company of SK BMP, expressed his gratitude for the administrative and formal support the company received from Silesian institutions (in particular the Katowice Special Economic Zone). Investing in the development of Silesian science is a form of repayment for the regional community.
It was also noted that the University of Silesia is a place for educating future staff of corporations such as SK, not only because of its engineering and technical programmes, but also because it offers Korean language courses.
The meeting was also attended by, among others, Prof. Tomasz Pietrzykowski, Vice-Rector for International and Domestic Cooperation, Byoung-chul Park, Director of SK hi-tech Battery Materials Poland, Rafał Żelazny, PhD, DSc, Chair of the Management Board of the Katowice Special Economic Zone, and Chang-il You, PhD, Head of the Centre for Poland-South Korea Cooperation at the University of Silesia.
Sang-min Lee, SK IE Technology CEO and Prof. Ryszard Koziołek, Rector of the University of Silesia | Photo by Olimpia Orządała
