LG partners LGD Seoul National University to develope Next-Gen OLED and flexible displays.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesùs.

LG Display Chief Technology Officer Yeo Sang-duk, fifth from left in the front row, poses with Seoul National University professor Lee Joon-shik, fourth from left in the front row, and other guests, after they agreed to establish a research center at the university, Friday. / Courtesy of LG Display.

LG partners LGD Seoul National University to develope Next-Gen OLED  and flexible displays.

LG Display is partnering the nation’s top university to develop next-generation displays such as organic light-emitting diode (OLED) and even bendable screens.

The Korean company, competing against its biggest rival Samsung Display in the race for future displays, said in a statement that it has decided to establish the LGD-Seoul National University Cooperation Center.

Under the alliance, senior LG technicians, Seoul National University (SNU) professors and undergraduate students will conduct various projects which are mostly related to developing materials and technologies for use in the displays, LG Display spokesman Jason Kim said Friday, adding these projects will be funded by his firm. 

Since last year, the company has been running the LGenius Program, aimed at helping graduate and doctoral students financially with technology-enriched theses. 

The LG spokesman said the firm has also worked with the nation’s top technology school KAIST in display-related projects and it plans to expand its support and scholarship programs with other colleges.

To offset stalling growth for LCDs, major display-making firms are heavily investing in OLEDs and even flexible OLED screens.

OLED displays are being used in smaller digital devices like Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy smartphone and tablet line, digital cameras and camcorders. But the market is set to open as Samsung and LG, the world’s top two television makers, are ready to aggressively promote their OLED sets. 

Even Apple has shown an interest in using flexible displays for its popular i-branded devices, though local spokesman Steve Park maintained his ``no comment’’ position.

The LG-SNU partnership comes after the Ministry of Knowledge Economy chose LG Display to lead a consortium charged with developing a 60-inch flexible OLED by the end of 2017. 

The basic idea is that these flexible displays could be used in windows displaying information at bus stations or other public places including stores. 

The Korean government hopes that the project will create as many as 840,000 jobs for the research and development of next-generation OLED and flexible screens.