Universities showcase talent pipeline for advanced industries

Education Minister Choi Kyo-jin / Yonhap

Korea’s top universities are stepping up efforts to train workers for semiconductors, batteries and biotech, as the government moves to expand a flagship program aimed at meeting rising industrial demand.

The Ministry of Education and the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology said they are hosting an event in Seoul Friday to present outcomes from the “advanced industry specialized university” initiative.

The program, launched in 2023 with a focus on semiconductors, has since expanded to secondary batteries and biotech, and will add robotics in 2026 to support next-generation technologies in the era of physical artificial intelligence (AI).

A total of 33 project groups are supported this year — 20 in semiconductors, five in batteries, five in biotech and three in robotics — with a funding worth 120.9 billion won ($90 million) in 2026.

Participating universities worked with 693 companies in 2025 to develop or upgrade 434 courses, including 232 industry-linked classes, and trained 3,576 students, the organizers said.

At Friday’s event, four universities — Kyungpook National University, Ajou University, Hanyang University ERICA and Inha University — are presenting standout cases of industry-linked education and curriculum innovation.

Programs include semiconductor clean-room training that simulates full production processes, joint curricula across universities, battery lab facilities for hands-on training and AI-driven biotech process labs, organizers said.

Universities are also sharing operational models and discussing future roles through networking sessions, while newly selected project groups in biotech and robotics are benchmarking established programs.

Lee Yoon-hong, a senior official at the education ministry, said the event is intended to spread successful models and shape the future of talent development in advanced industries.

“We will continue support so that specialized universities can grow steadily as the importance of advanced industry talent increases,” Lee said.

This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.