"1.2 Billion Won in Government Funding Secured Over Three Years"
Nurturing Talent for Carbon Neutrality and Green Growth
Dong-A University (President Lee Haewoo) announced on September 10 that it has been selected as a final recipient of the "2025 Environmental Sector Specialized Leading University Fostering Project," jointly promoted by the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Employment and Labor.
With this selection, Dong-A University will secure a total of 1.2 billion won in government funding over the next three years, receiving approximately 400 million won annually. The funding will be used to build a wide range of educational and research infrastructure, including interdisciplinary convergence research, field-oriented education, and industry-academia cooperation programs.
The "Environmental Sector Specialized Leading University Fostering Project" aims to address the demand for skilled professionals in the "Eco-up" industry, which promotes carbon neutrality and green growth. "Eco-up" encompasses all areas of the green industry, including environmental management and conservation, environmental technology and equipment, and upcycling industries. It is estimated that there will be a shortage of about 77,000 professionals in this field over the next five years.
For this project, the College of Life Resources Science at Dong-A University (Dean Kim Doohyun) will take the lead, with participation from the Department of Biomaterials Engineering, the Department of Applied Biological Engineering, the Department of Food Life Science Engineering, and the Department of Smart Green Resources. Through this initiative, the university plans to establish an educational system to nurture field-ready talent equipped with capabilities for carbon neutrality and climate change response. This will include not only regular curricula but also extracurricular programs and field-based practical education infrastructure, thereby realizing industry-customized education.
Previously, the College of Life Resources Science at Dong-A University was also selected for the Ministry of Environment's "Environmental Sector Specialized Graduate School" project, securing a total of 5 billion won in research funding from 2020 to 2025. As a result, the university has established a dual-structured professional talent development system, nurturing intermediate-level professionals at the undergraduate level and advanced experts at the graduate level.
Jung Howon, professor of Biomaterials Engineering and project manager, emphasized, "Through this project, we will establish a systematic education system specialized in the green bio-materials industry and implement a talent development model that leads to tangible results through small-scale industry-linked projects and employment support programs."
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