"Science and Engineering Talent Fostered in the Field"... 400 University Students to Join Industry-Academia Joint Research

A joint industry-academia research project aimed at nurturing science and engineering university students into talent who can be immediately utilized in industrial settings is being launched in earnest. Going beyond simple theoretical education, the program focuses on fostering “field-oriented engineering talent” by having students solve real-world technical challenges faced by companies.

The Ministry of Science and ICT announced on April 28 that, together with the Korea Foundation for the Advancement of Science and Creativity, it will newly launch the “Next-Generation Engineer Training Program.”

Reference photo to aid understanding of the article. Scene from the KB Good Job Employment Fair held on the 27th at COEX, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Photo by Dongju Yoon

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This program supports science and engineering students in building practical skills by conducting research projects based on industrial demand. Since 2017, the ministry has supported more than 3,200 student research teams through similar initiatives and is expanding and reorganizing these efforts into a new program this year.

This year, two consortia-each consisting of multiple universities-and one support group will be selected, supporting a total of 400 university students. The overall project budget amounts to 2 billion won.

Research will be carried out in a “practical problem-solving” format. Student research teams will work together with supervising professors, graduate students, and corporate experts to jointly solve technical challenges presented by the industry. Each research team will consist of around five members, with approximately 10 million won in research funding provided per team.

Follow-up support will continue even after the project concludes. The support group will operate a “Next-Generation Engineers Network,” assisting students in entering the industrial field through company lectures, internships, and employment or startup connections.

The Ministry of Science and ICT will accept applications for project consortia and support groups through a public announcement starting April 29. Depending on the results, the ministry plans to expand the scale of support in the future.

Lee Joonbae, Director General for Future Talent Policy at the Ministry of Science and ICT, stated, “We will support science and engineering undergraduates so they can grow into creative and problem-solving talent by gaining experience directly addressing issues in national strategic technology fields.”

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