"How to Become an AI Developer?" SW Meister High School Talk Concert

[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Jo] The Ministry of Science and ICT announced on the 23rd that students from three Software Meister High Schools nationwide held an online talk concert, "Software Meister High School Online Talk Talk Talk," where they communicated online with current experts from software companies.

Due to concerns over the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), the talk concert connected a studio in Seoul, where software company experts gathered, with three Software Meister High Schools (Daejeon, Daegu, Gwangju) online, proceeding with expert lectures, school introductions, and Q&A sessions. Additionally, the webinar platform used was developed directly by students selected from the Software Meister High Schools. This platform will be released as open source on GitHub after the event.

Attending the expert lecture, Director Jungwoo Ha of Naver introduced the concept of artificial intelligence, foundational disciplines, and Naver's latest AI technologies under the theme "Trends in Artificial Intelligence Technology." Seokjin Kang, a developer at Woowa Brothers and a first graduate of Daedeok Software Meister High School, shared sincere stories and warm advice drawn from his experiences in further education, high school life, job preparation, and software development work, gaining much empathy. Rigeon Hwang, Director at Wanted, gave a special lecture on "Recruitment," the topic of greatest interest to Software Meister High School students. He introduced the latest recruitment information, including recent hiring standards, required skills, and hiring methods of software companies, attracting strong interest from many students preparing for employment.

During the subsequent Q&A session, various questions that students had been curious about were asked, such as "Have you ever felt limitations while coding?" and "How can I become an AI developer?"

At the talk concert, promotional videos for each Software Meister High School, created by students acting as video planners and reporters, were also introduced. Currently, three schools operate in Daejeon, Daegu, and Gwangju, and preparations are underway to open a school in Busan in 2021.

Software Policy Officer Kyunghee Song of the Ministry of Science and ICT stated, "The practical, field-oriented education at Software Meister High Schools is producing excellent talents who will lead the software field," and added that they will "actively support the continuous nurturing of outstanding talents who will lead the development of domestic software in the future."

The Ministry of Science and ICT, together with the Ministry of Education, has been promoting support projects for Software Meister High Schools, which are early nurturing excellent talents who will lead the future software industry through demand-tailored education for the software industry. Software Meister High Schools produced their first graduates in February 2018.