Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) has dispatched a KOICA (Korea International Cooperation Agency) project volunteer team to Colombia, marking the start of a full-scale enhancement of its glocal role in international development cooperation.

JBNU announced on the 15th that 14 members of the 4th KOICA project volunteer cohort recently departed for Bogotá, Colombia, and have begun on-site activities to carry out the "Bogotá National Vocational Training School (SENA) Innovation and Entrepreneurship Education Capacity-Building Project."

The dispatched volunteers will serve as the core personnel laying the foundation for the project over the next three years. They will support the establishment of SENA's innovation and entrepreneurship education system by conducting a baseline survey; establishing startup spaces and securing equipment; and planning and operating startup idea competitions.

In particular, they will run a startup idea contest targeting approximately 500 SENA students and alumni across Colombia to discover a total of 30 promising startup ideas and facilitate their transition to actual businesses. JBNU plans to strengthen commercialization support by dispatching entrepreneurship experts to the field in February next year.

They will also directly operate various cultural exchange programs—such as taekwondo classes, Korean food cooking classes, and traditional brush calligraphy and modern calligraphy (hand-lettering) programs—to promote mutual understanding and build friendly partnerships among young people in both countries.

The project is being led by Moon Kyung-yeon, Director of the JBNU International Development Cooperation Center, and is being implemented in consortium with the Korea International Development Cooperation Center (KIDC). Volunteers will be selected and dispatched in six rounds from this year through 2028. The project's ultimate goal is to strengthen the innovation and entrepreneurship education capacity of the National Vocational Training School (SENA) in Bogotá, Colombia, and to support the region's sustainable economic development by creating a technology-innovation-based startup ecosystem.

This project is a KOICA priority cooperation initiative aimed at strengthening entrepreneurship capacity and improving employment conditions among Colombian youth. Based on its glocal capabilities as a national flagship university, JBNU is expanding its global ESG activities. It is expected to contribute to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly Quality Education (Goal 4) and Decent Work and Economic Growth (Goal 8).

Moon Kyung-yeon, Director of the International Development Cooperation Center, said, "As the 4th cohort members play a key role at the starting point of the project, we will build an outcomes-driven foundation through thorough preparation to substantially boost the entrepreneurial capacities of local youth. JBNU will continue to do its best to cultivate young talent with professionalism and a sense of responsibility in the field of international development cooperation."

Meanwhile, the JBNU International Development Cooperation Center has recruited the second batch of volunteers. After completing one month of domestic training, they will be dispatched to Bogotá, Colombia in late April, 2026, and will carry out on-site activities for approximately four months. Main activities include supporting the operation of startup competitions, commercializing outstanding ideas, and joint startup activities with local youth. All expenses required for overseas activities, including living expenses, housing, and round-trip airfare, will be fully covered.