The Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) and the Korea Foundation for the Advancement of Science and Creativity will launch the "Next-Generation Engineer Training Program" this year to support research by science and engineering undergraduates.
The ministry said Tuesday it will newly select two project groups and one support group, each composed of multiple universities, to back 400 STEM undergraduates. The public call for the project and support groups begins Wednesday. This year's funding totals 2 billion won ($1.5 million), with plans to expand the scale based on program performance.
The initiative follows the "Field-Customized STEM Talent Training Support" and "Field-Linked Future-Leading Talent Training Support" programs, which backed more than 3,200 undergraduate research teams from 2017 through last year.
The core aim is to provide research and education support so that STEM undergraduates can grow into talent capable of responding to rapid shifts in industry. The program will offer undergraduate-level industry-academia joint research experience and mentoring from industry professionals.
The project groups will identify research tasks, referred to as "real-world problems," that undergraduates can tackle among technical issues and pending challenges faced by companies in national strategic technology fields. STEM undergraduate research teams will then conduct research to solve these problems jointly with industry experts, under the guidance and advice of faculty advisors and graduate students.
The support group will provide follow-up assistance for students who complete the program as they enter and settle into companies in advanced technology fields. It will operate a nationwide "Next-Generation Engineer Network" and, in cooperation with STEM-related institutions, support lectures by major STEM companies, internships, and employment and startup linkages.
"We will support STEM undergraduates so they can grow into next-generation engineers equipped with creativity and problem-solving skills by researching on-site problems in national strategic technology industries," said Lee Jun-bae, Director General of the Future Talent Policy Bureau at MSIT. "We ask outstanding universities to actively participate."
