Busan National University to Host 'BOA Youth Challenge' to Solve Local Issues with AI

Busan Dongseong High School, Busan Centum Girls' High School, Daekwang High School, and Buil Electronics and Design High School Participate
Planning Startup Items to Promote Busan Using AI, Producing Goods, and More

Busan National University (President Choi Jaewon) will host the '2025 BOA (Busan On AI) Youth Challenge' on May 9 in the university headquarters' main conference room, together with local high school students.

This event is jointly organized by the Busan National University Artificial Intelligence Convergence Research Center and the Regional Innovation Competency Education Research Center, with participation from both general and specialized high schools in Busan, including Busan Dongseong High School, Busan Centum Girls' High School, Daekwang High School, and Buil Electronics and Design High School.

Under the theme "Youth Imagination Lights the Future of Busan," participating students will form teams to devise and present creative startup ideas, characters, and goods that use artificial intelligence to solve local issues.

The event consists of preliminary online learning and real-time remote lectures, followed by an in-person final round. Students will present startup items focused on promoting the local area and produce tangible goods based on their ideas to showcase on site.

Busan National University designed this program to give youth hands-on experience applying AI technology to real-life problems, helping them develop key future skills such as creativity, collaboration, and digital literacy. In particular, while previous AI education focused on theory or one-off experiences, this project adopts a practice-oriented learning model in which students define local issues themselves and develop solutions, thereby increasing engagement and outcomes.

Song Giltae, head of the Busan National University Artificial Intelligence Convergence Research Center (professor in the Department of Information and Computer Engineering), stated, "This will be a practical opportunity for youth to lead change in their local communities through AI," adding, "We aim to develop this into an exemplary model for university-linked AI career education in the future."

Even after the event, Busan National University plans to continue supporting outstanding participants through additional mentoring and startup camps, and will share participants' results externally via social media and YouTube channels to ensure ongoing communication with the local community.