Busan City Cultivates Future Workers to Lead the AI Industry

Support for Artificial Intelligence Academy, Competitions, and Academic Lectures

Busan City Hall building. Busan City has launched a talent development project in the field of artificial intelligence.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] Busan City is launching a project to cultivate professionals in the field of artificial intelligence (AI).

The city announced on the 27th that it will promote the ‘2020 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Talent Development Support Project’ in collaboration with the Busan Talent Lifelong Education Promotion Institute to prepare for future talent demand.

This project will be conducted as various programs open to anyone interested, including local university and graduate students, related experts, professors, and clubs, in line with the ‘National AI Strategy’ announced by the government in December last year.

The city plans to actively respond to the paradigm shift in future new industry jobs and take the lead in AI utilization and research.

In particular, Busan is expected to gain momentum as it has many universities capable of supplying excellent IT personnel and diverse regional base industries such as tourism, manufacturing, and distribution logistics. The goal is to create an AI industry ecosystem through connections between people and companies, and between companies using AI.

The main detailed projects include the ‘AI Academy,’ which invites leading domestic AI experts to conduct lectures on theory and case studies; the ‘AI Idea Competition,’ centered on university AI clubs; the ‘AI Expert Training Project,’ which meets the actual technical demands of local companies; and the ‘Support for AI-related Academic Conferences,’ involving AI research professors and experts.

The project is scheduled to run from June until the end of the year, and specific support targets and project details will be posted on the Busan Talent Lifelong Education Promotion Institute website starting in June.

A Busan city official said, “We plan to foster interest in AI to create jobs and establish a sustainable ecosystem where university students can find employment,” adding, “We will steadily promote AI talent development and industrial advancement projects such as ‘BB21 Plus’ and the ‘4th Industrial Revolution Future Talent Development Project’ to ensure Busan becomes a leading city.”