Volkswagen Group Korea Launches Initiative to Train Automotive Software Specialists

Volkswagen Group Korea signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the 13th to strengthen mutual cooperation in the field of automotive specialized software talent development with the Ministry of Education’s Advanced Field Innovation Convergence University Project Future Mobility Consortium, the German non-profit coding school 42 Wolfsburg, and the German Embassy in Korea.

The signing ceremony, attended by Til Scheer, President of Volkswagen Group Korea, Michael Reiffenstuel, German Ambassador to Korea, and others, took place at the German Ambassador’s residence to commemorate the 140th anniversary of Korea-Germany diplomatic relations.

SEA:ME (Software Engineering in Automotive and Mobility Ecosystems) is a master’s level curriculum designed to cultivate talent equipped with the knowledge and creativity to lead the digitalization of automobiles through programming. It is a 12-month program that prepares participants for employment in the mobility sector, consisting of three sub-modules: embedded systems, autonomous driving systems, and mobility ecosystems. Each module lasts up to six months.

[Photo by Volkswagen Group Korea]

Through this MOU, Volkswagen Group Korea will provide financial support to Kookmin University, which oversees the Future Mobility Consortium project under the Ministry of Education’s Advanced Field Innovation Convergence University Project.

Based on this financial support, Kookmin University will lead the selection of SEA:ME participants and the operation of the program by coordinating tasks among the seven universities in the Future Mobility Consortium (Kookmin University, Keimyung University, Daelim University, Sunmoon University, Ajou University, Inha University, and Chungbuk National University).

42 Wolfsburg will provide the educational resources necessary for Korean students to complete the SEA:ME curriculum in Germany and supervise them. It will also take the lead in developing the curriculum for SEA:ME fellows. The German Embassy in Korea will assist Korean students in adapting smoothly to life in Germany by providing educational support.

President Til Scheer stated, “Automobiles are becoming increasingly digitalized and connected, and the headquarters plans to increase the proportion of in-house developed software applied to vehicles produced by the group from the current 10% to 60% by 2025. For this, highly trained software experts are needed.” He added, “This MOU is significant in that it provides capable Korean students with the opportunity to grow into top programmers by undertaking challenging automotive-related projects, while also offering opportunities to interact with various experts from the German industry and academia, including Volkswagen Group and its software subsidiary CARIAD.”

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