Government Selects Six Specialized Graduate Schools for Advanced Industries... 18 Billion Won to Foster Regional Talent

Only Non-Metropolitan Universities Selected Starting This Year
First-Time Support for Robotics and Aerospace Defense Fields

Yonhap News Agency

The government has newly designated six graduate schools—Kongju National University, Gyeongsang National University, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), Kyungpook National University, Kangwon National University, and Jeonbuk National University—as specialized graduate schools for advanced industries, aiming to cultivate master's and doctoral-level talent to drive high-tech industry growth outside the Seoul metropolitan area. Starting this year, support is limited to non-metropolitan graduate schools, with robotics and aerospace defense newly added as fields of focus.

On August 31, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced that it will officially designate the results of the new selection for the "2026 Specialized Graduate Schools for Advanced Industries."

The specialized graduate schools for advanced industries project aims to nurture master's and doctoral-level innovative talent who can lead the growth of national strategic advanced industries. The program supports the development and operation of curricula reflecting industry demand, the establishment of educational infrastructure including labs and equipment for experiments and practical training, and industry-academia collaborative projects with companies.

This year, a total of 22 regional graduate schools applied to the program. The ministry made its final selection of six graduate schools across the fields of semiconductors, biotechnology, robotics, and aerospace defense after considering each school's capabilities, regional growth engines, and linkage to key government policies such as the three major megaprojects.

By region, Kongju National University in the central region was selected for semiconductors. In the southeastern region, Gyeongsang National University was chosen for aerospace defense. In the southwestern region, GIST will operate a specialized graduate school in semiconductors. Kyungpook National University in the Daegyeong area and Jeonbuk National University in the Jeonbuk region were selected for robotics, while Kangwon National University in the Gangwon region was chosen for biotechnology.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy will provide a total of 18 billion won in support for these six newly selected graduate schools this year. Each university will receive up to 3 billion won per year, with funding available for up to five years. The support period will initially be three years, with the possibility of a two-year extension following a performance review. The budget will be used for personnel expenses, the establishment of educational environments, curriculum development and operation, and industry-academia projects.

Starting this year, the support system for specialized graduate schools has been revamped to focus on regional development. Previously, the program was open for competition nationwide, resulting in nine of the 14 currently operating schools being in the metropolitan area and only five outside it. From this year, in line with the government’s "5 Major Regions and 3 Specialized Zones" regional growth strategy, the program has been linked to regional growth engines and limited to non-metropolitan graduate schools.

The range of supported industries has also expanded. Since starting with three graduate schools dedicated to semiconductors in 2023, the ministry has selected a total of 14 specialized graduate schools—six for semiconductors, four for batteries, two for displays, and two for biotechnology—supporting about 1,200 master's and doctoral students. For the first time this year, robotics and aerospace defense, newly designated as national strategic advanced industries, have been included as target fields for support.

Nam Myungwoo, Director General for Industrial Policy at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, stated, "We expect that talented master's and doctoral graduates nurtured in local regions will stay and start businesses in these areas, serving as growth engines for regional development and contributing to balanced national growth." He added, "We will continue to do our utmost to ensure that innovative talent can take the lead in driving regional industries."

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