Samsung SDI Signs Talent Development Agreements with KAIST and Hanyang University... Full Effort to Secure Next-Generation Workforce

On the 23rd, Samsung SDI and Hanyang University held a signing ceremony for the 'Hanyang University-Samsung SDI Battery Talent Development Program' at Hanyang University, and the attendees are taking a commemorative photo. (Photo by Samsung SDI)

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Samsung SDI has signed talent development agreements one after another with KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology), Hanyang University, following Seoul National University and POSTECH, launching an all-out effort to secure next-generation battery experts.

On the 22nd, Samsung SDI announced that it signed the "KAIST-Samsung SDI Battery Talent Development Program" with KAIST, and on the following day, the 23rd, it signed the "Hanyang University-Samsung SDI Battery Talent Development Program" agreement with Hanyang University. This expands the partner universities after signing battery talent development agreements with POSTECH on the 3rd and Seoul National University on the 17th.

Through agreements with these four universities, Samsung SDI plans to select 200 undergraduate and 300 master's and doctoral scholarship students over ten years starting from the 2022 academic year, guaranteeing employment at Samsung SDI for the selected scholars.

Looking at each university individually, Hanyang University will select 200 Samsung SDI scholarship students over ten years starting from the 2022 academic year and provide customized education for next-generation battery technology development. The candidates are undergraduates majoring in battery convergence at Hanyang University who wish to join Samsung SDI. Scholarships will be awarded to students completing this program, and they will join Samsung SDI immediately upon graduation.

At KAIST, students selected for master's and doctoral programs will complete battery-related courses and engage in field-centered research, including industrial site visits at Samsung SDI, participation in company projects, and experiments. They will receive separate personal scholarships covering tuition fees for their degree programs, and employment at Samsung SDI is guaranteed upon degree completion. Approximately 40 faculty members from KAIST’s Departments of Bio and Chemical Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, Chemistry, and the Cho Chun Shik Graduate School of Green Transportation will participate in this program.

Samsung SDI explained that the reason for consecutively signing battery talent development agreements with leading domestic universities is due to a strong recognition of the need to secure future talent and build an industrial ecosystem. Samsung SDI President Jeong Young-hyun stated at an event last June, "Although the secondary battery industry is growing, there is a shortage of personnel," emphasizing the necessity of talent acquisition and urging government-level support.

Samsung SDI’s move is expected to have a significant impact on expanding industry-academia cooperation for next-generation battery talent development and enhancing competitiveness in the global battery market. Samsung SDI invests about 7% of its annual sales in research and development (R&D). The accumulated R&D expenses for the third quarter of this year reached 643.7 billion KRW, marking a record high.

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