96 Billion Invested in System Semiconductor Workforce Training... Three Consortia Including Seoul National University

[Asia Economy Reporter Seol Gina Jo] The Ministry of Science and ICT announced on the 28th that three consortia, including Seoul National University, Sungkyunkwan University, and POSTECH, have been selected as executing institutions for the system semiconductor convergence specialized workforce development project, which will invest 9.6 billion KRW.

The system semiconductor convergence specialized workforce development project is a program in which domestic universities operate horizontal and vertical convergence education programs in semiconductor and application fields for affiliated master's and doctoral students, aiming to cultivate advanced system semiconductor design personnel equipped with related expertise and creativity.

After a call for proposals and evaluation conducted since February, out of a total of six applicant universities, the three consortia selected as project executing institutions specialize in the following fields: ▲Seoul National University, Artificial Intelligence Semiconductors ▲Sungkyunkwan University, Internet of Things Semiconductors ▲POSTECH, Biomedical Semiconductors.

These consortia will develop and operate customized curricula and courses for each specialized field, divided into semiconductor basics, semiconductor advanced, convergence advanced, and PBL (Project Based Learning), based on four semesters for master's and six semesters for doctoral programs.

In particular, through completing courses outside their major in basic and advanced courses, developing curricula based on corporate demand, and promoting chip fabrication projects, students will cultivate a broad understanding of upper-level system semiconductors and sufficient practical capabilities. Student support programs such as education and career counseling and startup mentoring will also be operated.

Participating students will be recruited with a minimum of 20 master's and 10 doctoral new students in the fall semester of the first year and spring semester from the second year of the project. Over six years (4+2 years), more than 140 students will graduate, including 100 master's and 40 doctoral students. They will receive government funding of approximately 9.6 billion KRW, 1.6 billion KRW annually.

The Seoul National University consortium, selected as the Artificial Intelligence Semiconductor Workforce Development Center, plans to operate customized curricula by setting specialized fields for each participating university, considering the wide application of AI semiconductors in autonomous vehicles, medical devices, image processing, and other fields. In addition to the lead institution Seoul National University, Konkuk University, Seoul National University of Science and Technology, Ajou University, Inha University, Chungnam National University, Above Semiconductor, Nupass, Nextchip, FuriOsa AI, Telechips, and others participate.

The Sungkyunkwan University consortium, selected as the Internet of Things Semiconductor Workforce Development Center, will focus on PBL education in seven subdivided functional areas such as sensors and signal processing, memory, security, and system applications, and plans to create a cooperative cluster through linkage with local governments, companies, and research institutes in the Gyeonggi and Chungcheong regions. Along with Sungkyunkwan University, Hanyang University, Kyung Hee University, Inha University, Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, Silicon Works, Silicon Meister, Above Semiconductor, Korea Nano Technology Institute, Seongnam Industry Promotion Agency, KETI, ETRI, and Chungbuk Provincial Office are involved.

The POSTECH consortium, selected as the Biomedical Semiconductor Workforce Development Center, operates three majors: biomedical sensors and devices, biomedical convergence circuit design, and biomedical system design. They have set a goal to produce world-class research achievements, including 100 papers and 45 patents, based on PBL. Besides POSTECH, Kyungpook National University, Pusan National University, KAIST, SK Hynix, Silicon Works, Huins, Suntech, and Glovein participate.

The three centers will develop curricula, organize courses and instructors, and recruit new students by August this year, start the semester in September, and plan to graduate a total of 480 personnel, including 335 master's and 145 doctoral students, by 2025.

Ko Seogon, Director of Basic and Fundamental Research Policy at the Ministry of Science and ICT, said, "System semiconductors are multi-variety customized products, and advanced personnel who can meet the demands of set companies determine competitiveness," adding, "Since last year, we have been accelerating toward the world’s number one goal like memory semiconductors, and we will do our best to systematically cultivate core talents with creative problem-solving abilities."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.