Ministry of SMEs and Startups Calls for Host Universities of Promising Field 'SME Contract Departments'

Recruitment for Departments Related to Future Car Materials and Components, Carbon Neutrality, and Innovation Cities

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 14th that it is recruiting host universities to establish and operate 'Contract Departments for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)'.

The ministry plans to open three departments for future car parts and materials, three departments for carbon neutrality, three departments for specialized industries (innovation cities), and six departments linked to degree programs, aiming for launch next year.

The SME contract departments were introduced in 2010 using a 'work-first, study-later' approach to promote the inflow of talent into SMEs and improve the skills of current employees. Currently, 70 contract departments are operated at 48 universities.

Each contract department operates with about 20 students per department, and workers who have been employed at an SME for more than six months or those scheduled to be hired are eligible to enroll.

Host universities operating contract departments receive approximately 35 million KRW per semester for department operation expenses, and students are supported with tuition fees necessary to complete their degree programs.

Eligibility for host university applications requires institutions classified as schools under Article 2 of the Higher Education Act that can operate doctoral, master's, bachelor's (3rd-year transfer), and associate degree programs. Departments currently participating in government-funded projects are excluded from application.

The application period for host universities is from the 15th until January 17 of next year. Applications can be submitted online through the SME Workforce Support Project Integrated Management System.

Won Youngjun, Director of Technology Innovation Policy at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, stated, "Through this recruitment, we expect to respond to industrial structural changes and contribute to nurturing talent in future promising fields," adding, "We plan to continuously expand SME contract departments in future promising fields."

Recruitment Fields and Scale of Contract Departments for Small and Medium Enterprises. Table = Ministry of SMEs and Startups

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