BUSAN — Dong-A University has been selected for a state program to place artificial intelligence at the center of its curriculum and support the AI transformation of key industries in Busan and the southeastern region. The plan goes beyond training AI specialists: it aims to build the school into a testbed where AI is applied at industrial sites in manufacturing and energy, human care, and maritime, port and shipbuilding sectors.
Dong-A University was chosen in the Ministry of Science and ICT's open call for its 2026 AI-centered university program, the Busan Metropolitan Government said on the 30th. The project runs for eight years from 2026 through 2033, with total funding of 2.52 billion won, including 2.12 billion won from the central government, 800 million won from the city and 320 million won from the private sector.
The AI-centered university program is a state initiative to shift university education from a software focus to an AI focus, training specialists and industry-convergence talent while accelerating AI adoption in regional industries. Dong-A University won the award on the strength of the AI and software education and industry-academia cooperation base it built through an earlier software-centered university program.
The project's stated direction is to become a testbed-driven AI-centered university leading the physical AI transformation of industries specific to the southeastern region. Rather than simply producing graduates who can use AI, the model applies AI at industrial sites and verifies whether the results can be commercialized.
The curriculum will change substantially. The university will convert its existing College of Software into a College of Artificial Intelligence and create a College of AI Transformation (AX) Convergence along with a graduate department of AI convergence. An introductory AI course called "AI for All" will be offered to all students, and the school will run a fast-track program combining undergraduate and master's studies in AI and AI transformation.
Ties to industry will also be strengthened. The university will pursue testbed-based education that pairs companies with AI technology in three areas: manufacturing and energy, human care, and maritime, port and shipbuilding. Through industry-academia projects and long-term internships, the plan is to expand students' on-site experience and connect it to jobs at local companies, startups and settling in Busan.
The program will also broaden AI education across the region. It will offer AI instruction to elementary and secondary students as well as to residents and working adults, and build a regional AI education hub. Over the course of the project, the university plans to train about 460 AI majors, provide basic AI education to 4,500 people and produce roughly 335 graduates at the master's and doctoral levels.
The project is expected to influence Busan's broader push to adopt AI across its industries. By combining AI with regional mainstay sectors such as maritime, port and shipbuilding, the program can link the university's talent development to technology testing at companies, widening the base for the region's digital transformation.
"We will actively support the creation of a virtuous ecosystem in which AI talent trained at universities leads the AI transformation of local companies, and in which those graduates find jobs, start businesses and settle in Busan," Mayor Jeon Jae-soo said.
