"I hope it will help nurture local talent."

Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) Professor Ki-Hyun Pyeon (College of Engineering, Division of Computer Science and Engineering) donated 10 million won to the university development fund, asking that it be used to support the training of outstanding local talent.

Professor Pyeon, who joined the university 18 years ago and has devoted himself to training outstanding students and to research, had long wanted to contribute to the development of local talent. When he took on the role of director of JBNU's SW-Centered University Project Group, to which JBNU was selected this year, he decided to put that intent into practice.

The project aims to reform the university education system and to cultivate specialized interdisciplinary talent in the software field who meet the demands of new technologies such as AI. It is scheduled to run for eight years.

With 15 billion won in government support over eight years, the project will restructure the curriculum—such as creating new interdisciplinary education programs—to develop core software professionals who will lead the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

As director of the project, Professor Pyeon said he intends to pursue educational policies that enable the university to keep pace with changes in the educational environment. He also hopes the fund will serve as a seed for the changes in software education the project is creating.

Professor Ki-Hyun Pyeon said, "Software itself can influence every industry, and education policy systems are changing, with elementary, middle and high school teaching methods being strengthened toward information delivery. In this situation, I hope this fund will be used freely—not to remain confined to a single unit within the university but to implement appropriate educational policies that are well matched to regional change."