JEONNAM-GWANGJU — Korea Institute of Energy Technology, known as KENTECH, is emerging as the central hub for artificial intelligence transformation in the Jeonnam-Gwangju region.
KENTECH has been selected for three core AI programs run by the Ministry of Science and ICT, Jeonnam-Gwangju Special Metropolitan City said on the 1st. The programs are the AI Innovation Talent Development Project, the Regional Intelligence Innovation Talent Development Project and the Top-Tier AI Early-Career Researcher Support Project. Combined funding for the three comes to about 48 billion won ($34 million).
On that basis, KENTECH will simultaneously train master's- and doctoral-level AI specialists, strengthen the skills of workers at regional companies and support advanced AI research by promising early-career researchers.
The core of the selection lies in combining AI with energy, KENTECH's area of strength. Working with KEPCO, TDL and more than 70 companies in Jeonnam-Gwangju, the university will accelerate AI transformation, or AX, across the region's main industries including energy, mobility and agriculture.
The work will not stay inside the laboratory. KENTECH plans to pursue research, field testing and technology development tied directly to industrial sites. The aim is to train AI talent while building an industrial innovation model that local companies can feel in practice.
The AI Innovation Talent Development Project has universities and companies work together to train practice-oriented talent to lead the country's AI transformation. With KEPCO and TDL, KENTECH will carry out AI-based research and demonstration centered on energy systems such as power grids and on next-generation energy materials.
The goal is clear: to train master's- and doctoral-level talent who understand the energy industry and can apply AI technology in the field. The project will receive a total of 19 billion won over six years through 2031, including 16.3 billion won from the national budget and 550 million won from the city.
Through the Regional Intelligence Innovation Talent Development Project, KENTECH will tie itself more closely to the region's industrial sites. The project focuses on using universities' ICT capabilities to upgrade regional industries and raise the technical skills of company employees.
KENTECH will join more than 70 regional companies to develop AI- and ICT-based intelligence technologies in energy, mobility and agriculture. The partners will identify the technologies companies need and train tailored talent who can put them to use on site. The university aims to train 190 specialists through the project. It will receive a total of 18 billion won over eight years through 2033, including 15 billion won from the national budget and 750 million won from the city.
KENTECH was also selected for the Top-Tier AI Early-Career Researcher Support Project. The program backs creative AI research by promising early-career researchers, such as postdoctoral researchers and faculty within seven years of their first appointment. KENTECH will receive about 11 billion won in national funding through 2031.
With the three selections, KENTECH has secured a foundation spanning AI talent development, industrial demonstration and advanced research. Its role as a pivot for industrial transformation in the Jeonnam-Gwangju region is expected to grow as it combines AI technology with its identity as a university specializing in energy.
Jeonnam-Gwangju Special Metropolitan City said it will link KENTECH's AI research and talent development capabilities to the region's main industries and actively support AX at industrial sites.
"This selection is significant in that it has laid the groundwork to connect KENTECH's AI talent development capabilities to regional industrial innovation," said Yoo Hyun-ho, director general of the energy industry bureau at Jeonnam-Gwangju Special Metropolitan City. "We will have universities and regional companies train talent for advanced industries together and spread research results to industrial sites, leading the AI transformation and competitiveness of regional industry."
