Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) has been selected for the 'Creative Convergence Engineering Talent Development Support Project' administered by the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology (KIAT), an agency under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. It received an 'Excellent' rating in the selection evaluation.

This project follows the previous Phase 2 Engineering Education Innovation Center Support Project (2012–2022, ten years) and will be implemented for six years through 2028. JBNU will serve as the lead institution, collaborating with five participating universities: Gwangju University, Kunsan National University, Wonkwang University, Jeonju University, and Jeju National University.

The project will operate as specialized consortia for ten future new-industry fields (AR/VR, IoT home appliances, digital healthcare, future mobility, next-generation semiconductors, materials, next-generation displays, low-carbon/energy technologies, intelligent robots, and smart factories). Thirteen consortia involving a total of 74 universities will be operated, with each consortium composed of one lead university and approximately six participating universities.

JBNU and its partner universities were selected for the 'Future Mobility' specialized consortium. They will receive national funding of KRW 375 million per year, totaling approximately KRW 2.25 billion.

Through this project, JBNU will act as the central hub of the network for 'developing creative convergence engineering talent.' It plans to develop demand-driven engineering education models for future new industries and regionally specialized industries, create industry–university–research collaboration programs, operate global exchange programs, and promote exchange activities among participating universities.

Il-jae Lee, Director of the Engineering Education Innovation Center at JBNU (Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering), said, "As the lead institution for this project to develop creative convergence engineering talent, our role and responsibility are significant," adding, "We will do our best to build an engineering education platform and operate engineering education innovation programs to train professionals who can adapt to technological and industrial changes in future mobility."

Meanwhile, the JBNU Engineering Education Innovation Hub Center has served since 2012 as a regional hub center overseeing 11 universities in the Honam region, including Kunsan National University, Chonnam National University, Mokpo National University, and Chungnam National University, for ten years. Through the operation of various engineering education innovation programs and exemplary programs to strengthen global competencies, it has raised the region's profile both domestically and internationally.