Technical Officer Candidates Strengthen Capabilities through Militech R&D

Announcement of the Results of the 1st Millitech Challenge for Science and Technology Officer Candidates

[Asia Economy Reporter Junho Hwang] The government is pushing for a plan to make participation in the Millitech research support program mandatory for candidates of the Science and Technology Specialist Officer program. This is a measure to strengthen defense research and development capabilities. The Ministry of Science and ICT announced the results of the 1st Millitech Challenge, in which candidates of the Science and Technology Specialist Officer program participated, on the 28th, revealing this plan.

The Science and Technology Specialist Officer program is a system where outstanding science and technology talents serve as research and development officers for three years at defense research institutions such as the Agency for Defense Development (ADD). After graduating from university and before commissioning as officers, candidates undergo various training courses for two years while enrolled as candidates. Especially from this year, to enhance candidates' capabilities in defense research and development, they were required to participate in the Millitech research support program. Millitech research was conducted by forming a total of five research teams per research project. Each team was supported in research activities for about seven months by faculty members and graduate students from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), serving as supervising professors and research mentors respectively. To evaluate the research outcomes, the government held the Millitech Challenge, selecting a total of three teams: one grand prize-winning team awarded the Minister of Science and ICT Award (with a prize of 2 million KRW), and two excellence award-winning teams receiving the Agency for Defense Development Director Award and KAIST President Award (with prizes of 1 million KRW each).

The grand prize-winning '2020-5 Research Team' conducted research presenting real-time target selection and tracking algorithms, terminal guidance control methods related to video-based guided multirotor systems, and verified tracking performance. Jang Won-dae, a 5th-term candidate and team representative, said, "Despite the limitations caused by COVID-19, we strived to continue active research activities online and participated in related academic conferences, gaining valuable experience with team members." He added, "In the future, I will do my best to solve problems based on creative ideas at ADD."

Based on these achievements, from the 7th term of Science and Technology Specialist Officer candidates selected on the 14th (a total of 23 people, including 2 women), participation in the Millitech research support program will be made mandatory. Kang Sang-wook, Director of the Future Talent Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Science and ICT, stated, "The significance of the Science and Technology Specialist Officer system lies in enabling outstanding talents in science and engineering to contribute to defense research and development through active duty service." He added, "The Ministry of Science and ICT will actively support Science and Technology Specialist Officers to make practical contributions to the defense sector and grow as leaders in their respective fields."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.