Graduate Schools for Advanced Industries Selected in Both Battery and Semiconductor Fields
Mayor Lee: "Aiming to Lead Global Advanced Industries, Becoming a Key Hub for Technology and Talent"
As global competition in advanced industries such as secondary batteries and semiconductors intensifies, Pohang City is emerging as a hub for nurturing key talent to lead the nation’s advanced strategic industries.
In February, Pohang City signed an industry-academia-research cooperation agreement to attract the POSTECH Battery Specialized Graduate School together with Gyeongbuk Province, Pohang City Council, POSTECH, Gyeongbuk Pohang Secondary Battery Industry Enterprise Council, Gyeongbuk TP, Pohang TP, Pohang Institute of Industrial Science and Technology, and Pohang Metal Material Industry Promotion Agency.
Together with Gyeongbuk Province and POSTECH, the city secured a total of 30 billion KRW in government funding over five years?15 billion KRW for each field?by being selected in both battery and semiconductor sectors for the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy’s Advanced Industry Specialized Graduate School Support Project, which aims to expand specialized human resources in advanced strategic industries.
The Advanced Industry Specialized Graduate School is designated and supported by the government to address the growing shortage of talent in advanced industries such as batteries and semiconductors, by increasing the output and enhancing the quality of master’s and doctoral-level professionals who will lead the nation’s advanced industries.
Selected graduate schools will provide education centered on industry demand-based R&D projects, field-oriented training utilizing industry experts as instructors, and post-graduation support such as job matching and career consulting for graduates.
Centered around POSTECH, Pohang boasts world-class science and technology infrastructure, technological capabilities, and innovative talent. By being selected for both battery and semiconductor specialized graduate schools?core drivers of future industries?Pohang has been recognized as the optimal city to lead Korea’s advanced industries.
In particular, POSTECH was the only institution outside the capital region to be selected for the newly designated battery specialized graduate school this year. POSTECH received high praise for presenting a vision to realize the world’s leading battery nation through university-industry-government collaboration, operating industry-tailored advanced materials and analysis programs centered on its Graduate School of Green Materials, and establishing a global education and research support system.
With the selection for the specialized graduate school support project, Pohang City, Gyeongbuk Province, and POSTECH plan to further expand field-oriented, industry-customized education and research infrastructure for the battery and semiconductor sectors, and to advance the industry-academia cooperation ecosystem, establishing themselves as a core hub for nurturing battery and semiconductor experts needed in domestic and global industries.
Until now, the city has not only focused on its foundational steel industry but has also laid the groundwork for diversifying its industrial structure into areas such as secondary batteries, semiconductors, robotics, and graphene, making dedicated efforts to expand the ecosystem for future new industries.
In particular, aiming to lead the global market beyond K-Battery, the city has demonstrated its potential to drive Korea’s industrial innovation by attracting a specialized industrial complex last year, securing 14 trillion KRW in large-scale investments from secondary battery companies, and being selected as an excellent regulatory free zone for batteries for four consecutive years?the first in the nation.
Following the designation of the secondary battery national advanced strategic industry cluster and selection for the battery specialized graduate school, Pohang City plans to make every effort to secure a definite advantage in the global competition for the secondary battery industry.
To this end, the city will actively address current issues such as expanding industrial complex infrastructure for timely production by secondary battery companies and resolving corporate challenges, while also expanding into areas such as electric ships, e-mobility, and global cooperation. At the same time, the city will accelerate the nurturing of innovative talent equipped with the specialized knowledge and practical skills needed by the industry.
Mayor Lee Kangdeok said, “With POSTECH’s selection for the specialized graduate school, Pohang has established a robust industrial foundation to maintain competitiveness and a technological edge in the core battery and semiconductor industries of the national advanced strategic sector. Going forward, we will foster innovative talent in all areas of advanced industries and leap forward as a key supply base of technology and talent that will drive the growth and innovation of global advanced industries beyond Korea.”
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