KAIST and GIST to Launch Joint Graduate School for Secondary Battery Workforce Training Next Year

President Yoon Hosts Livelihood Discussion Meeting
Planned to Be Established in All Regions

The Graduate School of Secondary Batteries, jointly operated by KAIST and the Ulsan Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), is expected to be established next year. The likely location for the establishment is Jeonbuk.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to the Ministry of Science and ICT on the 19th, during a public discussion held in Jeongeup, Jeonbuk, attended by President Yoon Suk-yeol, a plan to operate a joint graduate school by KAIST and GIST to nurture high-level master's and doctoral talents in secondary batteries was announced.

This plan involves establishing an advanced base near the Saemangeum area, which is emerging as a core supply hub for next-generation secondary battery materials, to produce related high-level personnel.

President Yoon, despite being on vacation last August, attended the Saemangeum Secondary Battery Investment Agreement Ceremony held at the Saemangeum Convention Center in Gunsan, Jeonbuk, and stated that Saemangeum is the optimal platform for building a secondary battery ecosystem, promising tailored support without hesitation.

In the Saemangeum National Industrial Complex, LS Group has signed an investment agreement to establish a secondary battery core material manufacturing facility worth 1.8 trillion KRW. The government has designated Saemangeum as a specialized secondary battery complex to support this.

Even with complete production facilities, securing personnel to operate and conduct research is necessary. Since secondary batteries are a national strategic technology, the Ministry of Science and ICT explains that nurturing and securing master's and doctoral level high-level personnel is crucial.

The Jeonbuk provincial government discussed establishing a related graduate school with KAIST, a leading science and technology institute with the highest research and educational capabilities in Korea, to cultivate high-level secondary battery talent. In response, the Ministry of Science and ICT encouraged GIST, located in the Jeonnam region, to jointly operate the secondary battery graduate school. According to KAIST, this is the first case of a graduate school being established through a consortium of science and technology institutes.

The Ministry of Science and ICT expects that with KAIST and GIST, which must lead the development of the Honam region, jointly participating, greater effects can be achieved compared to a single approach in areas such as ▲shared use of facilities and equipment ▲mutual exchange of students, researchers, and faculty ▲joint technology development cooperation with industry.

A Ministry of Science and ICT official explained, "Although a concrete establishment plan has not yet been prepared, a business plan will be developed in the second half of the year, and the joint secondary battery graduate school installation will be promoted next year." Related budgets, key contents of the master's and doctoral training programs, and the scale of personnel training by year must also be prepared. The graduate school location is reported to be likely in Jeonbuk.

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