Specialized Manpower Development Project Supported by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy
Strengthening Industry Linkages
The Korea Iron & Steel Association has organized an event to share the achievements in cultivating skilled professionals who will lead the eco-friendly metal material industry.
Participants attending the "Eco-friendly Metal Materials Industry Skilled Workforce Development Project Overall Performance Exchange Meeting" held on the 26th at Pohang Lahan Hotel are taking a commemorative photo. Provided by Korea Iron & Steel Association
The Korea Iron & Steel Association announced that it held the "Eco-friendly Metal Material Industry Skilled Workforce Development Project General Performance Exchange Meeting" on the 26th at Lahan Hotel in Pohang. The event was supported by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and hosted by the association. It aimed to share the research achievements of skilled professionals who will lead the development of low-carbon process technologies and eco-friendly products in the steel and metal industry.
At the event, 13 graduate students selected as outstanding performers in industry-academia collaboration projects from seven participating universities presented their research achievements. Evaluation committee members included experts from major Pohang-based steel companies such as POSCO, Hyundai Steel, Dongkuk Steel, SeAH Steel, and KISCO.
The presentation topics focused on key issues in the steel industry, including hydrogen-based reduction steelmaking, development of eco-friendly new materials, and process optimization. The corporate evaluation committee members provided in-depth feedback by comprehensively reviewing the appropriateness of project plans, the implementation process, research outcomes, and their potential impact.
As a result of the evaluation, Hyoju Ahn, a master's student at Yeungnam University, who presented on "Pore and Slag Forming Characteristics Using Eco-friendly Carbonaceous Material Derived from Waste Plastics," was selected as the top participant and received the President's Award from the Korea Iron & Steel Association. Ahn stated, "I was able to go beyond theory-based learning and carry out a project that could be applied to industrial sites. The feedback from corporate experts helped me further specify my future research direction, which was a great help in my development as a researcher."
Following the performance evaluation, a dinner meeting was held where corporate experts served as mentors and the graduate students as mentees, sitting together at one table to freely discuss research fields and career paths. According to the association, this provided an opportunity for sharing on-site expertise and practical career advice.
An association representative stated, "The Eco-friendly Metal Material Industry Skilled Workforce Development Project serves as a foundational project for fostering practical, interdisciplinary talent to reliably supply the steel industry with a super-gap competitive edge. We will continue to expand industry-academia exchanges and actively support outstanding talent so they can smoothly enter the field."
Meanwhile, this project, supported by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and supervised by the association, has been underway since 2023 as a training initiative for master's and doctoral students. Its goal is to nurture R&D professionals who will lead the development of low-carbon process technologies and eco-friendly products in the steel and metal industry.
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