Investing 1.5 Billion Won to Nurture Practice-Oriented Design Talent
The Korea Institute of Design Promotion (KIDP) announced on the 25th that it will provide support worth 1.5 billion won this year for the "Korea Design Membership Plus (World-Class Designer Development Program)," which aims to cultivate practice-oriented design talent in collaboration with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
The "Korea Design Membership Plus" program promoted by KIDP is being implemented to nurture industry- and company-tailored talent who can be deployed to the field immediately. KIDP selects design major students with potential from across the country and supports them with a wide range of practical training over a two-year period. It offers opportunities to participate in academia-industry collaboration projects on themes such as global companies and the latest issues, with corporate designers taking part directly as mentors during the process.
Last year, KIDP carried out 32 projects, including future-oriented design concepts and products slated for mass production, in cooperation with companies across various domestic and international industries such as BMW in Germany and Hankook Tire (mobility), LG Household & Health Care (beauty), Naver (platform), and Hanssem (furniture). Some students who participated in academia-industry collaboration projects with Hankook Tire and other companies were hired as interns and later converted to full-time employees, achieving tangible results.
This year, KIDP plans to focus on fostering convergent talent who will lead the future by additionally operating advanced training programs that take into account rapidly changing industries and environments. In addition, it will invest 1.5 billion won annually to support global design workshops, education on the latest trends, creative space support, and participation in overseas awards and exhibitions. Furthermore, during the student selection process, KIDP will blind the applicants' affiliated schools to further enhance the fairness and objectivity of the evaluation.
Kang Yoonjoo, President of KIDP, said, "Starting this year, we will apply a blind screening method to the selection of beneficiary students to enhance the fairness and credibility of the evaluation," adding, "We plan to select students with competence and potential rather than focusing on their alma maters, and to nurture them over two years into practice-oriented talent with competitiveness in the industrial field."
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