The government is embarking on a full-scale effort to train 2,000 highly skilled master's and doctoral degree holders in cutting-edge industries.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (Minister Ahn Deok-geun) has selected 40 universities and 14 institutions to participate in the 2024 Industrial Innovation Talent Growth Support Project, which fosters master's and doctoral degree holders needed by the industry to secure competitiveness in advanced industries.

△ Advanced Industry Specialized Graduate School △ Master’s and Doctoral Programs Based on Industry Demand △ Overseas Collaborative Research Support for Fostering Global Researchers, etc., the new project of the Industrial Innovation Talent Growth Support Project will receive an investment of 246.8 billion won in the future, and plans are to foster 2,000 master’s and doctoral talents who will lead domestic advanced and key industries.

First, the Advanced Industry Specialization Graduate School, which fosters master's and doctoral degree holders by establishing a specialized department for national advanced strategic industries, newly selected three schools each for semiconductors and batteries, and one school each for displays and bio, following the selection of three schools for semiconductors last year.

As a result, Kyungpook National University, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Sungkyunkwan University, Yonsei University, and Hanyang University were selected as graduate schools specializing in advanced industries, and each university plans to receive 3 billion won in annual support to train approximately 920 students over the next five years.

The education and training program that supports master's and doctoral programs in cutting-edge and key industries such as robots, future cars, artificial intelligence (AI), and textiles is an industry-oriented program. A consortium of universities and industries was selected to carry out 13 projects planned based on demand.

Each consortium will receive an average of 1.5 billion won per year to carry out industry-academia projects linked to companies and educational programs required by industrial sites, and is expected to produce approximately 750 talented individuals over five years.

In addition, 11 universities, including Seoul National University, Korea University, and Inha University, were selected for the overseas linkage project that supports international research experience to foster master's and doctoral students as global researchers. The selected universities will receive an average of 2.3 billion won in support and will promote joint research and projects with approximately 330 students and excellent overseas research institutions such as MIT and Stanford University over the next three years.

An official from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said, “We plan to continue to expand this project and focus our policy capabilities to foster master’s and doctoral degree holders who meet the needs of the industry and to help domestic high-level talents develop global capabilities.”