Kakao Launches 2nd Phase of 'Kakao Tech Campus' to Foster Local Talents

Kakao announced on the 22nd that it has signed business agreements with a total of five universities?Pusan National University, Chonnam National University, Kangwon National University, Kyungpook National University, and Chungnam National University?to operate the second term of its regional developer talent cultivation program, ‘Kakao Tech Campus.’

Kakao Tech Campus is a regional industry-academia cooperation model operated by Kakao since last year. Considering that most IT-related education is concentrated in the Seoul metropolitan area, resulting in relatively fewer educational opportunities for regional students, the program is conducted in collaboration with regional hub universities. The program has expanded to a total of five universities, including Pusan National University and Chonnam National University, which participated in the first term last year.

Kakao Tech Campus is operated as an official university credit course to enhance immersion. Students can prepare for employment while continuing their studies, which has led to a high admission competition rate. Last year, it was recognized for its outstanding performance and contribution and was selected as an ‘Excellent’ program under the Ministry of Employment and Labor’s Youth-Friendly Company ESG Support Project.

This year, Kakao plans to select a total of 250 students from five universities and operate the program for eight months from April to November. The education program has been further strengthened by adding an Android track to the existing frontend and backend tracks. The goal is to cultivate developers who can be immediately deployed in the field by providing education from basic developer training to project-based practical training.

In the first term of Kakao Tech Campus held last year, about 110 students completed the program. It received great response for allowing participation from non-IT majors by selecting students through coding tests regardless of their major.

A Kakao representative said, "Kakao Tech Campus is an educational program operated to provide Kakao’s unique ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) capabilities and technological expertise to regional university students," adding, "We will continue to address regional disparities and the gap in talent development between schools and companies, contributing to nurturing juniors in the IT industry."

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