Recruiting 'Digital Master Students' for Training ICT Talent in Martial Arts and Trade Industries

Korea International Trade Association Trade Academy Operation
For Digital Transformation and Youth Unemployment Mitigation

The Korea International Trade Association (KITA) Trade Academy announced on the 16th that it is recruiting students for the "4th KITA Digital Master Course" until the 16th of next month.

The KITA Trade Academy has been operating the KITA Digital Master Course since 2021 to promote digital transformation (DX) in the trade industry and alleviate youth unemployment. This course runs for about eight months and features ICT theoretical education such as data analysis, machine learning, and deep learning, along with company-linked practical training and projects. The goal is to cultivate practical talents who can be immediately deployed in the field after completing the training.

In particular, the company-linked practical projects involve students using data analysis and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies learned during the course to solve problems occurring in the workplace based on actual industrial data. Mentors from each company participate to provide advice related to the application of digital technologies by the students.

Song Inseong, director of ValueLinkU Co., Ltd., who has participated as a mentor since the first course, said, "Not only are the students' project results being utilized in actual company service development, but students who worked on the projects are also directly hired after completing the course," adding, "Young people who have experienced company-linked projects have high practical application capabilities and possess creative approaches to problem-solving that differ from existing employees."

In fact, in June last year, students of this course, composed of IT non-majors, participated in the 'K-Digital Hackathon Competition' hosted by the Ministry of Employment and Labor and won the grand prize (Minister of Employment and Labor Award). Esther Park, a staff member of the DX team at Vinatech Co., Ltd., who succeeded in finding employment after participating in the hackathon, explained, "Through the project, I was able to apply theory in practice and develop my personal capabilities."

Jung Heechul, Secretary General of the KITA Trade Academy, said, "The KITA Digital Master Course received excellent evaluations from the Vocational Competency Evaluation Institute last year, and from this year, the scale of course enrollment will be doubled (from 30 to 60 students). We will continue to actively respond to nurture convergence talents encompassing AI and business and strengthen the digital competitiveness of the trade industry."