[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] The Korea Iron & Steel Association and the Korea Digital Convergence Institute are training AI specialists in the steel industry sector.
The Korea Iron & Steel Association and the Digital Convergence Institute announced that they were selected for the Ministry of Science and ICT's 2020 "Industrial Specialized Workforce AI Capacity Building" project.
This project, titled "Training Steel-AI Convergence Specialists for Steel Industry Intelligence," aims to cultivate experts who can apply AI to the steel industry.
The steel industry is facing a structural transformation. Recently, due to the spread of COVID-19, demand for steel products domestically and internationally has sharply declined and inventories have surged. Under these circumstances, domestic steel companies increasingly need to apply AI as a tool for cost reduction and productivity innovation.
To successfully introduce, apply, and operate AI in the steel industry, it is urgent to train personnel who possess both knowledge and experience in the industry and expertise in AI.
Accordingly, from October 2020, the Korea Iron & Steel Association and the Korea Digital Convergence Institute will establish educational programs for the convergence of the steel industry and AI through non-face-to-face education and at locations such as Seoul, Daejeon, and Pohang. The Ministry of Science and ICT will cover all education costs.
The curriculum is divided into three courses: ‘Leader Course,’ ‘Middle Manager Course,’ and ‘IT Convergence Specialist Course.’ A total of 300 people will participate across the three courses.
The ‘Leader Course’ targets CEOs, CTOs, and executives of companies in the steel and steel-related manufacturing sectors who are introducing (or planning to introduce) AI. The course is designed so that decision-makers can acquire sufficient knowledge and information about AI, one of the core technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, to secure corporate competitiveness.
The ‘Middle Manager Course’ is aimed at middle managers who plan and operate AI introduction in the steel industry. This course provides basic knowledge to develop planning and operational capabilities to introduce and build AI in steel industry sites.
The ‘IT Convergence Specialist Course’ is divided into two groups: employees in departments such as 'Marketing,' 'Production Management,' 'Quality Control,' and 'Manufacturing IT' of steel-related companies that are introducing (or planning to introduce) AI, and AI/SW developers and consultants interested in the steel industry.
Each course plans to provide specialized education centered on AI introduction case projects within the steel industry. Additionally, to enable the application of learned technologies in actual steel industry sites, graduates of the ‘IT Convergence Specialist Course’ will participate as mentors in the ‘Middle Manager Course.’ In other words, IT experts and consultants will transfer their AI/SW development know-how to middle managers in the steel and steel-related manufacturing sectors.
Park Yoo-soo, Director of the Korea Iron & Steel Association, said, "Through this education project, part of the Digital New Deal, we hope that specialized personnel in each industry will become talents equipped with AI capabilities, a core of the Fourth Industrial Revolution era," and added, "We expect that those who complete the training will contribute to expanding the use of AI."
For more information, please contact the Korea Iron & Steel Association at 02-559-3569.
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