Samsung Electronics recently stated in its "Sustainability Report 2026" that it "moves forward together into the future while fulfilling its social responsibility." The initiatives are rooted in its "talent-first" management philosophy. The company believes it can achieve a technological "super gap" only when its suppliers, including materials, parts and equipment companies, possess world-class technological capabilities.
Samsung's Win-Win Cooperation Academy, which has cultivated 120,000 semiconductor talents, is an extension of this management philosophy. Since 2022, the Device Solutions (DS) division of Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) has built training programs that reflect industry characteristics into the Win-Win Cooperation Academy to strengthen the semiconductor industry ecosystem.
Through the Win-Win Cooperation Academy, supplier employees receive technology training spanning the entire supply chain, including an understanding of the eight major semiconductor processes as well as semiconductor measurement, inspection and analysis technology; semiconductor materials technology; semiconductor electrical equipment; and semiconductor piping technology.
In 2022, the first year semiconductor training began systematically, 21,000 supplier employees received training. The number of trainees grew to 24,000 in 2023 and 27,000 in 2024, reaching 33,000 last year. Through the Win-Win Cooperation Academy, which trains 20,000 to 30,000 people each year, Samsung Electronics is strengthening the capabilities of its suppliers while supplying talent to lead Korea's semiconductor industry.
"Semiconductors are completed through cooperation in numerous fields, including materials, parts and equipment," said Hong Sang-il, part leader of Samsung Electronics' Win-Win Cooperation Academy. "When all fields of the semiconductor ecosystem join hands and move forward together, we can seize new growth opportunities."
Samsung Electronics is also devoting efforts to producing young talent who will be responsible for the future of the semiconductor industry. Its flagship program is the Samsung Software Academy for Youth·AI (SSAFY). Samsung Electronics has trained a cumulative 14,750 young people through its 16th cohort this year.
SSAFY reflects the conviction of Samsung Electronics Chairman Jay Y. Lee, who views cultivating technology talent as a matter of national competitiveness beyond corporate survival. "We must invest in technologies that do not exist in the world," Lee has stressed. "Our survival depends on future technology, and the best technology is created by excellent talent." The judgment is that when young people equipped with technological capabilities are systematically cultivated and connected to quality jobs, not only corporate growth but also industrial competitiveness are strengthened together.
At Multicampus in Yeoksam-dong, Seoul, which this reporter visited on the 9th, SSAFY trainees were forming teams of six and immersing themselves in developing practical services in the bio and robotics fields using generative artificial intelligence (AI) technology.
SSAFY's one-year curriculum consists of 1,725 hours, equivalent to about 60 university credits. Of these, about 60 percent, or 1,025 hours, are allocated to AI training. In the first semester, trainees learn the fundamentals needed for AI development, including computer algorithms, machine learning and deep learning, large language models (LLM) and transformer architecture.
From the second semester, the classroom effectively transforms into a "Pangyo startup office." All trainees are divided into about 140 teams and plan and develop three projects themselves over five months. It is literally hands-on training, and the SSAFY Seoul campus is equipped with a separate server room housing 54 AI graphics processing units (GPUs), including Nvidia's H100, V100 and L40S.
Samsung Electronics does not stop at delivering to young people only the exam or certification knowledge needed for employment. It provides a package of AI infrastructure experience through which they can learn new technologies on their own, along with education and employment opportunities. Of the 14,750 SSAFY trainees cultivated this way, about 10,000 have successfully found jobs and are active at some 2,400 companies. SSAFY graduates have advanced beyond the semiconductor industry into information and communications technology (ICT), startups and financial companies, to the point where the program is already being called an "AX military academy."
"The goal of the training is not to end with teaching young people software and AI, but to help them grow into talent needed across the nation and industry after finding employment," a SSAFY official said.
