Gwangju City Selected for 'Regional ICT Innovation Square Development Project' Competition

Gwangju City Hall

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City announced on the 18th that it has been finally selected for the ‘2020 Regional ICT Innovation Square Development Project’ conducted by the National IT Industry Promotion Agency (NIPA) under the Ministry of Science and ICT.

This project is a national initiative to nurture practical professional talent over four years by dividing the country into four regions, in response to the rapidly increasing demand for talent in software fields such as artificial intelligence and blockchain, which are core to the digital convergence of all industries linked to the Korean New Deal (Digital New Deal).

Gwangju was finally selected on the 14th after a presentation evaluation as a consortium led by the Gwangju Information & Culture Industry Promotion Agency, based on the know-how accumulated through planning and operating the AI Academy this year, with Jeonnam and Jeonbuk participating.

The project involves a total national budget of 20 billion KRW over four years, with 5 billion KRW allocated annually to establish an Innovation Hub in Gwangju to oversee the entire project, and to set up multiple AI complex education centers in key regions to activate local software and AI education and strengthen the 4th industrial ecosystem through professional workforce development.

First, the comprehensive Innovation Hub will be a space installed at the Gwangju Video Complex Culture Center, the lead institution, where infrastructure such as development spaces and testbeds for trainees and software developers will be built, along with various programs encouraging innovation technology idea exchange and collaboration, including trainee mentoring and industry technology forums.

The core of the project, the regional AI complex education operation, will be flexibly structured with level-based curricula of approximately 160 hours covering basic, advanced, and business model courses, reflecting AI and blockchain education and region-specific industry-specialized AI convergence education, with Gwangju, Jeonnam, and Jeonbuk each managing their respective regions to train a total of 3,000 professionals over four years, 750 annually.

In particular, Gwangju plans to newly design specialized AI courses based on data and technology demands of key industries such as automobiles, energy, and healthcare, where AI integration yields high synergy effects, to promote AI diffusion in the local industry, and also plans to include real-time online courses in preparation for the spread of COVID-19.

Son Kyung-jong, Director of the AI Industry Bureau of the city, said, “Although we signed AI-related business agreements with about 28 companies this year alone, most companies are struggling to hire professional talent,” adding, “Through the AI Academy and this Regional ICT Innovation Square project, we will continuously produce core talent desired by companies and establish a virtuous cycle system that connects them to jobs.”

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