BUSAN — A long-term project in which universities and companies jointly train field-ready specialists to lead the artificial intelligence transformation of Busan's core industries is getting under way.
The Busan Metropolitan Government said on the 22nd that Pusan National University was selected for the Ministry of Science and ICT's competitive program to cultivate regional intelligence innovation talent. From 2026 through 2033, the university will invest 15 billion won in central government funding, 1.5 billion won from the city and matching university funds over eight years in joint industry-academia research and talent development for AI transformation in manufacturing and the port and maritime sectors.
The core of the project is not merely applying AI technology developed in laboratories to industrial sites, but accumulating that technology inside companies — what the program calls internalization. The idea is to move beyond the limits of regional firms that depend on outside sources for technology during AI transformation, and to build a foundation on which companies can operate and advance the technology themselves.
Drawing on the existing information and communications technology convergence department's experience in educating working professionals and in industry-academia cooperation, Pusan National University will run a master's program in engineering for at least 20 working professionals each year. It is an integrated education and research model that identifies problems companies actually face on site as joint industry-academia research projects and links them to degree theses. The university also set targets of enrolling 160 new students in the master's program for working professionals over the project period, and producing 90 master's degree holders among working professionals and 160 full-time master's and doctoral degree holders.
The research is divided broadly into three pillars: smart manufacturing AI, smart port and maritime AI, and edge AI and industrial AI platforms. Major tasks include AI vision inspection and defect detection, risk prediction and robot control at automotive, shipbuilding and nuclear plant production sites, as well as port digital twins, agentic AI, terminal work-plan optimization and generative AI-based safety monitoring.
The program will also focus on developing foundational technologies that can be applied across multiple industries, such as on-device AI and decision-making automation based on large language models. The approach reads as a strategy to lift productivity and competitiveness across the region's industries by connecting manufacturing and the port and maritime sectors through AI as a shared technology, rather than treating them as separate industries.
Eleven small and mid-sized companies in the southeastern region will also take part in the research. The project will pursue on-site application and commercialization of the technologies developed in partnership with demand-side companies including Hyundai Motor, LG Electronics, Samsung Heavy Industries, Dongkuk Steel and Busan Port Authority. A step-by-step roadmap — exploration and design, then development and verification, then internalization and expansion — will be drawn up for each participating company so that research results do not end as one-off technology development.
"In AI transformation, what matters is not only developing technology but also training specialists who understand industrial sites and can actually apply AI technology," Mayor Jeon Jae-soo said. "We will raise the AI technology competitiveness of local companies and create a virtuous ecosystem in which outstanding talent learns and grows in Busan and leads innovation in regional industry."
