LG AI Graduate School launches gov’t-approved master's, doctoral programs

LG AI Graduate School President Lee Hong-lak, second row center, poses with master's and doctoral candidates admitted to LG AI Graduate School during an entrance ceremony at LG Group's Magok Campus in western Seoul, Wednesday. The students are holding LG Gram laptop computers presented by LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo. Courtesy of LG Corp

LG Group opened LG AI (artificial intelligence) Graduate School as an official institute providing government-approved master’s and doctoral programs, with Chairman Koo Kwang-mo stressing the importance of pursuing “human-oriented” technology for candidates.

LG Corp. said the LG AI Graduate School held its entrance ceremony in western Seoul, admitting 11 master's and six doctoral candidates from different LG affiliates as its first batch of students.

In a letter to the new students, Koo expressed the group’s commitment to nurturing AI experts who will explore the possibilities of human potential.

“Technology should become a tool that brings smiles to people and should ultimately be oriented toward them,” Koo said in the letter.

“Failure is proof that we are searching for answers and the most honest path toward innovation. We will be a strong supporter so that candidates will not be discouraged by failure and can fully unleash their imagination, and so that the technologies created here can meet the world.”

Koo also presented LG Electronics' latest Gram laptop computers to the candidates.

Approved by the Ministry of Education as an educational institution, the school offers practical AI application training to LG Group employees. Eight from LG Electronics, three from LG Energy Solution, two from LG Innotek, two from LG Display and two from LG Chem have joined the school.

The LG AI Graduate School offers a one-year master's program and a doctoral program of at least three years, with full tuition support. Doctoral candidates are required to publish papers in a journal indexed in the Science Citation Index Expanded or Science Citation Index as a graduation requirement. Graduates will receive degrees in AI.

The curriculum focuses on the practical development and application of AI, including foundation model development and hands-on research experience across industry domains where AI can be applied, such as language, vision, data intelligence and materials and bio intelligence.

Lee Hong-lak, president of LG AI Graduate School and LG AI Research, said the launch marks a meaningful milestone as the first case of a company running an academic degree program.

“The school will do its utmost to provide top-level education so that students can go beyond academic contributions and become AI leaders who solve real-world challenges in the industry,” Lee said.

LG Group has been making efforts to expand AI capabilities not only across its businesses but also throughout society, under Koo’s philosophy that human talent drives technological innovations that change the world and ultimately serves as the source of national competitiveness.

In 2020, when establishing LG AI Research, the group’s AI think tank, Koo pledged his full support to develop the institute into a place “where the best talents and partners can gather to take on the world’s toughest challenges.”

Under this direction, LG Group has been operating LG Discovery Lab, an experience-based AI education institution for students. The program has provided free AI education to more than 33,000 teenagers in Seoul and Busan each year.

The group has also been running LG Aimers for four years as a training program for jobseekers that offers hands-on experience in solving real-world problems using AI.

LG AI Graduate School was established in 2022 as an AI training organization for LG employees and received approval from the Ministry of Education last year to offer master’s and doctoral degree programs.