Changwon Special City and Masan University Sign Agreement for High-Level Vocational Education Hub Project

On the 8th at 11 a.m., Changwon Special City in Gyeongnam signed an agreement with Masan University in Meeting Room 3 to establish governance for the 'High Vocational Education Hub District Project (HiVE)'.

Participating organizations and companies, including the Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute, Changwon Office of Education, Changwon Industry Promotion Agency, Changwon Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Changwon City Research Institute, Ulsan-Gyeongnam Regional Innovation Platform Smart Manufacturing Engineering Project Group, Korea Land and Geospatial Informatix Corporation Gyeongnam Regional Headquarters, Korea Small and Medium Business Technology Innovation Association Gyeongnam Branch, Gyeongnam ICT Association, Youngpoong Electronics Co., Ltd., CTNS, MGIT, and Together Drone Mapping totaling 15 related institutions and enterprises, agreed to cooperate in establishing governance and operating a network for the High Vocational Education Hub District Project.

Changwon City in Gyeongnam Province signed an agreement with Masan University to establish governance for the "Higher Vocational Education Hub District Project."

Changwon City faces the urgent challenges of youth population outflow and job creation. Local companies suffer from a shortage of manpower, while the younger generation experiences a mismatch due to the lack of jobs that meet their expectations, making an urgent and exceptional solution to satisfy the demands of both sides necessary.

Accordingly, the city aims to reorganize lifelong vocational education in line with the national lifelong education policy shift by collaborating with industries, local universities, the Changwon Industry Promotion Agency, and other related institutions. The first project in this effort is the High Vocational Education Hub District Project (HiVE).

The High Vocational Education Hub District Project is a Ministry of Education-led competitive project that consolidates the strengths and specialties of the city, local universities, companies, and related institutions to jointly select specialized fields within the region and cultivate customized talent for youth and middle-aged groups, thereby jointly addressing regional issues.

In this HiVE project, Masan University has selected future mobility and intelligent (smart) factory convergence as its specialized fields and plans to offer vocational education courses such as unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) design and manufacturing, drone utilization, smart factory operator training, and smart factory installation and planning expert courses.

The High Vocational Education Hub District is planned to be selected by the Ministry of Education and the National Research Foundation in 2023, with a total of 15 regions. The final supported candidates will be announced in April. If selected for this competitive project, the project will receive funding including 2 billion KRW in national subsidies annually for two years.

Hong Nam-pyo, Mayor of Changwon Special City, stated, “Changwon Special City is reorganizing into adult vocational-centered lifelong education, and today’s agreement marks the starting point. We will continue to significantly strengthen adult vocational education by utilizing excellent educational institutions such as universities.” He added, “I ask that the governance gathered here today unite their efforts to play a central role in creating jobs and enhancing competitiveness in the region.”