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Busan Metropolitan City to Cultivate AI Professionals for Manufacturing and Port Industries, Driving AI Transformation in Regional Industries

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Busan Metropolitan City, led by Mayor Chun Jae-soo, announced that Pusan National University has been selected for the Regional Intelligentization Innovation Talent Development Program promoted by the Ministry of Science and ICT.

The Regional Intelligentization Innovation Talent Development Program is a national competitive funding program designed to foster innovative talent for regional intelligentization by linking joint industry-academia research with efforts to strengthen the information and communications technology capabilities of employees in regional industries, thereby advancing and diversifying local industries.

Through its selection, Pusan National University will focus on accelerating the artificial intelligence transformation of manufacturing industries, including automotive, shipbuilding, and nuclear power, as well as the port and maritime industries, which are key industries in the southeastern region. The project will also help regional companies build the capabilities needed to independently operate and advance AI technologies.

Together with Pusan National University, Busan Metropolitan City will invest KRW 15 billion in national funding, KRW 1.5 billion in municipal funding, and matching funds from the university over eight years from 2026 to 2033 to promote joint industry-academia research and cultivate AI professionals.

Drawing on its existing educational foundation for incumbent employees in its ICT convergence program and its experience in industry-academia cooperation, Pusan National University will operate an engineering master’s degree program for at least 20 incumbent employees each year. It will also implement an integrated education and research model that connects real-world corporate challenges with joint industry-academia research and degree theses.

During the project period, the university plans to systematically cultivate AI professionals needed by regional industries by admitting 160 new students to master’s programs for incumbent employees and producing 90 master’s degree holders among incumbent employees as well as 160 full-time master’s and doctoral degree holders.

The project will focus on three main research areas: smart manufacturing AI, smart port and maritime AI, and edge AI and industrial AI platforms.

Technologies to be developed include AI-based vision inspection, defect detection, risk prediction, and robot control for automotive, shipbuilding, and nuclear power manufacturing sites, as well as port digital twins, agent AI, optimization of terminal operation planning, and generative AI-based safety monitoring.

The project will also develop and disseminate foundational technologies that can be applied across the manufacturing, port, and maritime sectors, including on-device AI and large language model-based decision-making automation.

Eleven small and medium-sized enterprises and mid-sized companies in the southeastern region will participate in the project and conduct field-oriented joint industry-academia research with the university. The project will also work with end-user companies and organizations, including Hyundai Motor Company, LG Electronics, Samsung Heavy Industries, Dongkuk Steel, and Busan Port Authority, to apply the technologies developed through the project at industrial sites and advance their commercialization.

Each participating company will establish a technology development roadmap covering the stages of exploration and design, development and demonstration, and internalization and expansion, enabling joint industry-academia research to proceed on a continuous basis. Through this approach, research outcomes will be linked to productivity improvements and commercialization, while establishing a foundation for technological self-reliance that will allow companies to independently operate and further advance AI technologies even after the project ends.

Busan Metropolitan City will continue to promote AI transformation in Busan’s key industries, including manufacturing, ports, and maritime industries, while further strengthening the regional AI ecosystem so that enhanced technological competitiveness among local companies can lead to the retention of outstanding talent in the region.

Mayor Chun Jae-soo said, “AI transformation requires not only technological development but also the cultivation of professionals who understand industrial workplaces and can apply AI technologies in real-world settings. Through this project, we will enhance the AI competitiveness of regional companies and create a virtuous ecosystem in which outstanding talent can learn and grow in Busan and drive innovation in regional industries through employment, entrepreneurship, and other opportunities.”