A number of students from the Department of Convergence Management of Technology, Graduate School, Jeonbuk National University (JBNU), were recognized as contributors to SME development and received ministerial and other awards at the 2022 Jeonbuk Small and Medium Enterprise Conference held on the 21st at the Jeonju Lahan Hotel.

The Department of Convergence Management of Technology is a graduate program operated by the JBNU Project Group for Specialized Workforce Development for the Dissemination of Convergence Technology Commercialization (Director Kwon Dae-gyu; hereinafter the MOT Project Group). It was launched as the first initiative in the Honam region to train innovative professionals in convergence technology commercialization. Since last year, the program has been run in two formats: a full-time track and an in-service track.

At the awards ceremony, master's student Shin Hyang (Team Leader, 전북여성교육문화센터), Ph.D. candidate Ahn Jong-wook (CEO, 올릭스), Ph.D. candidate Lee Jun (CEO, 내쇼날시엔디), integrated program student Jeong Seung-kwan (CEO, ㈜친한F&B), and Ph.D. candidate Hong Hwa-young (Senior Official, 한국탄소산업진흥원) received the Minister of SMEs and Startups Award.

In addition, Ph.D. candidate Lee In-ho (CEO, ㈜그룬) received the Minister of Employment and Labor Award. Master's students Kim Kang-hoon (CEO, 쌍영방적주식회사), Shin Joo-hee (CEO, 삼정농산푸드), and Jeong Mi-rim (administrative staff, 한국식품연구원), as well as Im Hae-won, Team Leader of the JBNU MOT Project Group, received the Central Association President's Award.

They attributed the fact that many students received awards this time to the Department of Convergence Management of Technology's professional and systematic in-service education.

JBNU Graduate School's Department of Convergence Management of Technology offers a hybrid education model suited to the era of convergence and fusion, centered on the Department of Industrial Information Systems Engineering with participation from the Department of Business Administration, the Department of Economics, and the Department of Public Administration. Jeonbuk Technopark, the Center for Creative Economy and Innovation, the Korea Agricultural Technology Promotion Agency, and the Korea Land and Geospatial Informatix Corporation also participate to enhance the quality of education.

Through this, the program operates three tracks—Innovation Leader, Innovation Development, and Innovation Management—to cultivate local convergence technology management talent. It also develops a variety of courses aligned with industry demand so that companies can pursue industrial structure transformation and acquire high value-added capabilities.

This year, 80 in-service employees from companies and institutions in the Jeonbuk region are enrolled. The program is actively working to develop students' capabilities by inviting prominent figures from society to hold seminars on convergence technology innovation management and other activities.

Kwon Dae-gyu, Director of the MOT Project Group, stated, 'Training convergence-type talent and providing tailored support for corporate innovation growth are measures to prepare for the post-COVID era and the Fourth Industrial Revolution.' He added, 'We will continue to develop and improve glocal convergence education curricula through integrated links between management and engineering and by reflecting industry demand, in order to cultivate locally innovative convergence talent.'