Six universities will lead partnerships between local governments, universities and companies under the Education Ministry's program to train workers for cross-regional growth engines, the ministry said.
The Ministry of Education released the selection results on the 8th for the cross-regional growth engine talent development program under its regional talent development framework, known as Anchor. Anchor lets each of the country's 17 local governments directly nurture universities through tailored projects tied to regional development strategies, expanding talent development from the level of individual cities and provinces to that of industrial and economic blocs.
The ministry will provide up to 30 billion won per model each year for four years, with funding differentiated according to annual assessments of training results. The six selected models plan to train about 14,000 workers through education, research and technology commercialization in their respective industrial fields.
Kyungnam University plans to train about 1,500 specialists over the next four years in Gyeongnam, Incheon and Gangwon in manufacturing domain knowledge, artificial intelligence, physical AI and robotics. Dankook University plans to train about 2,600 workers in AI-based advanced bio-manufacturing in Chungnam, Gyeonggi and Daegu.
Kumoh National Institute of Technology will produce about 3,000 industry-academia innovation workers in physical AI-based semiconductor materials, parts and equipment in Gyeongbuk and Daegu, while Korea University's Sejong campus will produce about 2,000 workers covering the entire semiconductor process. Mokpo National University plans to train about 2,800 workers in renewable energy in Jeonnam and Gwangju, and Woosuk University plans to train about 2,000 workers in hydrogen energy and physical AI in Jeonbuk and Gyeonggi. The ministry gave high marks to the way the projects were designed to turn partnerships between universities and companies — including Megazone in Gyeongnam, Incheon and Gangwon, Yuhan in Chungnam, Gyeonggi and Daegu, and SK hynix in Sejong and Chungbuk — into long-term relationships.
The ministry also conducted a first-year review of the Anchor program across all 17 metropolitan governments from the 11th to the 22nd of last month. Gwangju, Busan and Chungnam received an S grade; Gangwon, Gyeonggi, Gyeongnam, Daejeon and Ulsan received an A; Gyeongbuk, Daegu, Incheon, Jeonnam and Jeju received a B; and Seoul, Sejong, Jeonbuk and Chungbuk received a C. The ministry will notify regions of their incentives this month after a two-week appeal period. The 400 billion won in incentives will be allocated differently by grade.
"The core of balanced development is creating a virtuous cycle in which talent born and raised in a region studies at local universities and grows into key personnel at local companies," Vice Education Minister Choi Eun-ok said. "Based on these assessment and review results, we will continue to provide support so that regional talent development systems lead to tangible outcomes, including more people settling in their regions."
