Busan National University Hosts 'Blockchain' Research Center, Dong-Eui University Hosts 'Artificial Intelligence' Research Center

Busan City Selected for Information and Communication Broadcasting Talent Development Project ‥ Preparing for the '4th Industrial Revolution' through Industry-Academia Cooperation

Busan City Hall. Busan City is collaborating with local universities to carry out a talent development project in preparation for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] A ‘Blockchain Platform Research Center’ will be established at Pusan National University, and an ‘Artificial Intelligence Research Center’ will be set up at Dong-Eui University. Busan City and the universities have joined hands in a project to nurture talent to lead the 4th Industrial Revolution.

The city announced on the 3rd that Dong-Eui University was selected for the project to establish the ‘Artificial Intelligence Grand ICT Research Center’ and Pusan National University for the ‘Blockchain University ICT Research Center’ in the ‘2020 Information and Communication Broadcasting Innovation Talent Development Project’ competition supported by the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Institute for Information & Communications Technology Planning & Evaluation.

The Dong-Eui University research center will invest a total of 18.75 billion KRW by 2028 to develop innovative technologies for AI convergence in regional strategic industries, train AI specialists for incumbent workers, transfer AI technologies, and support technical difficulties.

The Pusan National University research center will receive a total of 5.43 billion KRW from this year until 2025 to develop blockchain core technologies and blockchain/Internet of Things (IoT) platform integration technologies, train blockchain master’s and doctoral-level key personnel, support blockchain technology startups, and assist with technical challenges.

The Artificial Intelligence Grand ICT Research Center, centered at Dong-Eui University, will involve Pusan National University, Silla University, and Inje University to jointly research innovative technologies that integrate AI in four regional strategic industries: marine and port, manufacturing and robotics, medical healthcare, and smart cities.

This center will open a specialized AI master’s degree program for incumbent workers in local small and medium-sized enterprises to nurture practical professionals desired by companies. It plans to discover high-quality, high value-added convergence products and services integrating AI technology and serve as a research institution to secure global-level technological competitiveness for regional companies, thereby securing new growth engines.

The Blockchain Platform Research Center, centered at Pusan National University, will involve Dong-A University, Pukyong National University, and Seoul National University of Science and Technology to jointly research blockchain security, services, and encryption technologies. It will play the role of a research institution to revitalize regional industry and research and development (R&D) through training advanced talents leading the blockchain core platform and providing specialized education for incumbent workers in industry-academia cooperation.

A city official said, “We expect to revitalize the regional economy through industrial convergence and technological advancement by producing highly skilled personnel responding to the 4th Industrial Revolution,” adding, “We will continue to discover joint projects among local universities and small and medium enterprises in industry-academia-research cooperation to drive innovative growth.”