Professor Jeong-min Son (College of Engineering, Division of Civil, Environmental, Resources and Energy Engineering; Vice-President of Industry-University Cooperation) received a Commendation from the Minister of Education for his contributions to revitalizing and ensuring the stable operation of the government-led Energy New Industry Innovation Convergence University Project.

Jeonbuk National University (JBNU)'s Energy New Industry Innovation University Project was launched in 2021 when it was selected as a Ministry of Education competitive project in a consortium of seven universities, including Korea University and Seoul National University. The project was established to train personnel in energy new industries such as solar photovoltaics, wind power, hydrogen fuel cells, batteries, electric vehicles, and smart grids.

At that time, then-JBNU President Oh-bong Yang served as the project director and established the Interdisciplinary Major in Energy New Industries to systematically train specialists in the new and renewable energy field. To broaden non-majors' curricular options, JBNU for the first time enacted the "JBNU Micro-Degree Establishment and Operation Guidelines" and launched four micro-degree programs. These measures made degree attainment easier for participating students and expanded course choices, thereby building a foundation for interdisciplinary education in the energy new industries.

In the early phase of the project, an undergraduate research program was planned and implemented to provide students with opportunities to enhance their self-directed, problem-based learning skills. Through a call for proposals, 14 projects (38 participants) were selected across course areas. The effort produced results, including one competition award and three paper presentations.

In the third year, Professor Jeong-min Son became the director and introduced 20 related courses, producing a total of 2,042 course participants. Two hundred students are expected to obtain degrees in related fields.

Professor Son, director of the project, said, "Thanks to the efforts of many faculty members and university staff, the Energy New Industry Innovation Convergence University Project has been able to continue smoothly. I believe this award belongs to them. We will continue to do our utmost to train local talent as highly skilled professionals in the energy new industry sector."