New AX Graduate Schools Established... 10 New Institutions Selected This Year with a 15 Billion Won Budget

Aiming to Nurture "AX Convergence Talents"

Bae Kyunghun, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT, Yonhap News

The Ministry of Science and ICT announced on the 19th that it has launched this year’s Artificial Intelligence Innovation Graduate School (AX Graduate School) program and plans to newly select 10 universities (graduate schools) with a total budget of 15 billion won this year.

While existing AI graduate schools have focused on nurturing "AI specialists" who develop and implement AI technologies themselves, the newly promoted AX Graduate School aims to foster "AX convergence talents" who combine domain-specific expertise with AI technologies.

Each graduate school will first select up to two convergence fields and promote AX-specialized research that integrates AI into each field. It will also operate a full-cycle AX education curriculum covering everything from fundamentals to projects, as well as master’s and doctoral fast-track programs, and it will ease master’s graduation requirements so that students can substitute AX research projects for a thesis.

Companies and universities will jointly establish an "AX Research Collaboration Center" within the graduate school to serve as a hub for industry-academia AX collaboration, and to ensure the effectiveness of industry field projects, a multiple-advisor system will be introduced in which university faculty members and corporate adjunct professors provide joint supervision.

The AX Graduate Schools will participate in the "AI·AX Graduate School Council" to facilitate the sharing of best practices and exchanges among AI-related graduate schools. In addition, by opening courses related to AX technology startups, they will encourage AX research outcomes to lead to actual startups, and they will strengthen cooperation with leading overseas universities and companies through joint research and internships.

Starting with 10 schools this year, the government plans to expand the program to a total of 22 graduate schools by 2030. Selected AX Graduate Schools will receive up to 3 billion won per year for up to six years (4+2 years), with a maximum of 16.5 billion won over six years. Universities must form a consortium with companies to participate, and they are required to train at least 40 graduate students.

Bae Kyunghoon, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT, said, "If we are to become one of the world’s top three AI powerhouses, the key is talent capable of actually applying AI to our core industries such as manufacturing, bio, and energy," adding, "We will work closely with industry and universities to actively support the newly established AX Graduate Schools so that they can become the core institutions for cultivating the essential talent we need."