SK Group opens 2-year AI academy with $2,200 monthly allowance
Summary
SK Group will launch SK AIGEN, a two-year, full-time, non-degree AI program in Seoul starting in March 2027. About 50 people aged 19 to 34 will receive 3 million won monthly for training, mentoring, workspace and practical projects. The program will select applicants for problem-solving potential rather than academic background and does not guarantee employment at SK.
Key Facts
- Applications will be accepted from Nov. 1 to 15, with participants selected by the end of December.
- In the first year, participants will develop individual or team AI projects addressing problems faced by individuals, companies and society.
- In the second year, participants will gain hands-on experience connected to their career or project plans through mentors and experts linked by SK.
- Seoul National University’s AI Institute will help participants broaden their humanities perspective and plan their careers.
- The program will be operated by mySUNI, SK’s in-house corporate training platform.
A promotional poster for the SK AIGEN program / Courtesy of SK Group
SK Group will launch a two-year, full-time, non-degree program for aspiring developers and early-career innovators focused on using artificial intelligence (AI) to solve real-world problems, the conglomerate said Monday.
Participants in the initiative will receive a monthly stipend of 3 million won (approximately $2,200) to support their intensive training and practical application projects.
The program, SK AIGEN, combines “AI” and “generation.” It is open to people aged 19 to 34 and will start in March 2027 with about 50 participants.
Participants will receive the monthly stipend for two years, along with training, mentoring and workspace. The program does not guarantee a job at SK or grant a degree, and participants have no obligations after completing it.
In the first year, participants will plan and carry out individual or team projects that use AI to tackle problems faced by individuals, companies and society. In the second year, they will gain hands-on experience in fields tied to their own career or project plans, with SK connecting them to mentors and experts.
SK said this reverses the conventional approach of learning subjects first and applying them later. Seoul National University’s AI Institute, which applies AI to fields such as sociology, economics and public administration, will help participants broaden their humanities perspective and plan their careers.
The program will be run by mySUNI, SK’s in-house corporate training platform. It will select applicants based on their willingness to solve problems and growth potential, not academic background or major.
Applications will be accepted from Nov. 1-15, with participants selected by the end of December. An information session will be held Oct. 28 at the Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies in Seoul. Details are available online.
SK Chairman Chey Tae-won said in a lecture in May that training to acquire knowledge quickly and pass exams is being replaced by AI. He said it is important to build all-round abilities that allow people to adapt to change and keep multiple options open.
The foundation, a scholarship body that SK’s late former chairman set up in 1974, has fully funded students’ overseas studies without conditions.
This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.
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