Sogang University selected for government-led AI training project

Sogang University is stepping up efforts to foster professionals capable of driving the artificial intelligence (AI) transformation of the manufacturing industry under a government-led initiative.

The university said it has been selected for the AI innovation skills development project, which is promoted by the Ministry of Science and ICT and administered by the Institute of Information & Communications Technology Planning & Evaluation (IITP).

Cho Sung-in, a professor in the university’s Department of Artificial Intelligence, will lead the project.

Under the project, the university will receive 16.25 billion won ($12 million) in government funding over five years and five months through December 2031.

The university plans to nurture master’s- and doctoral-level students capable of understanding manufacturing processes and developing AI models, as well as applying and validating them in industrial settings.

A university official said the project calls for nurturing AI transformation students capable of shaping the future of Korea’s manufacturing industry through cyber-physical process intelligence.

Cyber-physical technologies incorporate the physical laws governing manufacturing processes and the characteristics of industrial equipment into virtual environments and AI models, enabling processes to be predicted, optimized and autonomously operated.

To this end, the Graduate School’s Department of Artificial Intelligence will operate two education and research tracks: manufacturing intelligence and edge AI for industry.

The manufacturing intelligence track, in collaboration with POSCO DX, will focus on research into manufacturing-specific large language models that incorporate physics and process knowledge, virtual commissioning of cranes used to handle raw materials, and humanoid-based manufacturing automation technologies.

The edge AI for industry track, in collaboration with Nota AI, will develop technologies for safety monitoring at manufacturing sites, lightweight industrial AI models and real-time situational awareness and control using edge devices.

Twenty-six professors from seven departments and graduate programs will participate in the project.

By bringing together expertise in AI and software as well as physics, manufacturing processes, robotics, hardware and virtual environments, the university seeks to establish an interdisciplinary education and research system for manufacturing AI.

The university will also establish a dual-campus industry-academia collaboration hub in Seoul's Sinchon and Pangyo in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, to support education and research.

At the Sinchon campus, the university will establish dedicated research labs and classrooms, seminar rooms and a data center mainly in the AI Impact Complex, which is currently under construction.

At the Pangyo digital innovation campus, the university plans to set up an industry-academia research hub near the offices of POSCO DX and Nota AI, enabling corporate researchers to collaborate closely with students and faculty.

The project team will carry out seven industry-academia joint projects annually.

“The focus of AI competition is shifting beyond the performance of general-purpose models toward the ability to understand manufacturing sites and drive real-world change,” said Cho, head of the project team.

He noted that the university will combine its strong foundation in AI education and multidisciplinary research capabilities with the industrial data and field validation environments of POSCO DX and Nota AI.