Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) (President Kim Dong-won), selected for the government’s 'Spatial Information Innovative Talent Development Project' to cultivate talent in the spatial information field as a driving force for future new industries and having established a 'Spatial Information–AI Linked Major', has partnered with the Spatial Information Industry Promotion Institute (Director Jeon Man-gyeong) to advance its educational system.

The project, led by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport as part of an inter-ministerial collaborative talent development initiative, selected eight universities including JBNU and will provide approximately KRW 4.5 billion in funding through 2025. Through this support, JBNU and the other universities will establish curricula in the spatial information field to cultivate outstanding talent.

Building on the creation of a related major, JBNU signed an agreement with the Spatial Information Industry Promotion Institute (Director Jeon Man-gyeong) on the 19th to expand the training of innovative spatial information talent by establishing educational systems and infrastructure and by expanding tailored curricula.

The signing ceremony, held at JBNU at 4:00 p.m. that day, was attended by JBNU President Kim Dong-won, Professor Hwang Ji-wook, who serves as the project director, and other senior university officials, as well as Jeon Man-gyeong, Director of the Spatial Information Industry Promotion Institute, and other senior executives.

Under the agreement, JBNU will continue collaboration with the Spatial Information Industry Promotion Institute across various fields to pursue the innovation project 'Spatial Big Data Analysis and Implementation of Artificial Intelligence Technologies.'

Initially, four departments at JBNU—Department of Urban Engineering, Department of Industrial Systems Engineering, Department of Computer Engineering, and Department of Information Technology and Engineering—will introduce an advanced combined master's–doctoral program and promote workshops and expanded field training to cultivate innovative spatial information talent through a spatial information–AI linked major and to realize smart cities.

To this end, JBNU will establish the new major, educational system, and infrastructure this year; next year it will expand and sophisticate tailored curricula; and in 2024 it will reorganize into a Spatial Information–AI Convergence Major and further advance the curriculum based on participation by industry and research experts.

In addition, the university plans to support student scholarships and a variety of student activities, and to activate industry-university cooperation by collaborating with local organizations involved in training spatial information personnel.

Jeon Man-gyeong, Director of the institute, said, 'I expect that by expanding the spatial information talent development project to four-year universities, graduates will be able to enter industry immediately as skilled professionals. We will make every effort, through close cooperation, to cultivate outstanding talent for the convergent era, where market demand is growing.'

In response, JBNU President Kim Dong-won said, 'This agreement with the Spatial Information Industry Promotion Institute presents a remarkable opportunity for the spatial information industry to develop into a next-generation growth platform by utilizing the spatial information data held by the state in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. We will actively use the university's research capabilities and resources to work toward establishing a sustainable mutual cooperation system between the institute and the university.'