The Silicon-based Solar Cell Advanced Human Resources Training Project Group at Jeonbuk National University (JBNU), led by Professor Yang O-bong and supported by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy for the energy workforce development project, is conducting close student exchanges with Nagasaki University in Japan to cultivate outstanding talent in the field of renewable energy.

From February 3 to 17, at the invitation of Nagasaki University, the Project Group is sending ten students to Nagasaki University to receive specialized instruction and hands-on training in solar cell materials and nanotechnology.

This student exchange follows the MOU signed last year with Nagasaki University covering student and researcher exchanges and collaborative research. The host university is covering the expenses to facilitate the sharing of new technologies in the renewable energy field and the exchange of information on workforce training systems.

JBNU and Nagasaki University have established an exchange program enabling students to receive specialized training because the recent Great East Japan Earthquake has underscored the risks of nuclear power and increased attention on renewable energy technologies. Both universities, which have secured global competitiveness in the fields of solar cell materials and nanotechnology, organized the exchange program.

Accordingly, JBNU students will receive two weeks of specialized instruction and practical training in solar cell materials and nanotechnology at Nagasaki University, with all expenses covered by the host university.

Additionally, after dispatching the exchange students, the Project Group plans to invite Nagasaki University students at the end of this month to provide specialized instruction.

Professor Yang O-bong, Director of the Project Group, said, "This student exchange with Nagasaki University aims to teach the specialized technologies that companies require for R&D, production, and quality improvement," adding, "We will broaden exchanges with overseas universities that have global competitiveness in solar cell materials and nanotechnology to deliver field-customized education to students and to strengthen our R&D capacity."

Meanwhile, the Silicon-based Solar Cell Advanced Human Resources Training Project Group received a total of KRW 3.8 billion, including KRW 2.3 billion in national funding, for the five-year period from 2010 to 2015. Over the next five years, the group will carry out a program combining theory and practice in silicon-based solar cell materials and devices. As part of the program, master's and doctoral candidates are required to publish SCI papers and patents resulting from related R&D to obtain their degrees.