Pukyong National University Selected as Lead Institution for This Year’s "Digital Saessak Project"

Full-Scale Launch of Customized Digital Talent Development
for the Gyeongsang Region

Pukyong National University (President Bae Sanghoon), in collaboration with its partner organization, the Korea Maker Education Cooperative (CEO Yoon Sookyung), has been selected as the lead institution for the Gyeongsang region in the 2025 Digital Saessak Project.

The main administration building of Pukyong National University and the Ungbitap Tower.

This project, overseen by the Korea Foundation for the Advancement of Science and Creativity, is an educational initiative aimed at providing elementary, middle, and high school students nationwide with experiences in software and artificial intelligence, as well as fostering digital competencies. It is being implemented to reduce the digital education gap among students due to regional and environmental differences, and to nurture future talent capable of properly understanding and utilizing digital technologies.

The total project period runs from May to the end of December this year, with a support budget of 1.2 billion KRW. The Digital Saessak program will be offered free of charge to local elementary, middle, and high school students, and will be conducted both at the Creative Hall on Pukyong National University's Daeyeon Campus and through direct visits to elementary, middle, and high schools.

With this selection, Pukyong National University plans to offer programs such as "Building AI Robots for Fishing Villages," "SOS! Save the Sea!," "Marine AI Device Design Project," "AR Journey with AI through Ocean Fairy Tales," "Developing a Chatbot to Promote Our Local Sea," and "Becoming a Digital Artist," to more than 4,500 elementary, middle, and high school students in total.

Through this project, Pukyong National University aims to provide advanced, hands-on digital education tailored to the characteristics of digitally underserved regions and groups in coastal areas of the Gyeongsang region, Honam, Jeju, and others. The university also intends to foster practical talent linked to future industries, expand connections with regular school curricula, and contribute to the advancement of the digital education ecosystem.

Professor Noh Maengseok (Big Data Convergence Major), who is overseeing the project, said, "Through this project, we will reduce the digital education gap and, by linking with school curricula, help students develop digital competencies. We aim to expand the foundation for AI, AR, and VR digital education based on the marine and fisheries specialization industries nationwide, and nurture outstanding core talent for the future regional industries."