Jeonbuk National University (JBNU)'s core element of the "Growth Engine–Linked Talent Development Plan" (the "Create Ten Seoul National Universities" initiative) has taken shape. The core is talent development and Collaborative Research in future industry fields through an employment‑linked contract‑based academic program with Hyundai Motor Company.

JBNU signed an agreement with Jeonbuk Special Self‑Governing Province and Hyundai Motor Company on July 20, establishing a cooperation framework for talent development and Collaborative Research in advanced future industry fields such as Physical AI, robotics and hydrogen energy. The university, the local government and a leading domestic company have joined forces, garnering attention as they begin to realize a model of national balanced development through regional coexistence.

At the official signing ceremony held at Jeonbuk Special Self‑Governing Province Office at 3:30 p.m. on the 20th, attendees including Yang O‑bong, President of JBNU; Lee Won‑taek, Governor of Jeonbuk Special Self‑Governing Province; and Shin Seung‑gyu, Vice President of Hyundai Motor Company, along with other officials, agreed to connect the region's growth‑engine industries, Hyundai Motor Company's future industry needs and JBNU's education and research capabilities. They pledged to cultivate talent locally and establish a virtuous cycle that links education to industry.

It is particularly notable as a practical example that concretizes the "Growth Engine–Linked Talent Development Plan" vision to enhance industry‑tailored talent development systems centered on a regional flagship national university and create a new model for national balanced development.

Under the agreement, the three institutions will jointly develop industry‑demand‑based curricula centered on advanced industries such as Physical AI, robotics and hydrogen energy, and will pursue the establishment and operation of contract academic programs and Industry–University–Research linked educational programs.

Accordingly, JBNU will prepare the academic regulations and curricula, faculty participation, student selection and academic management systems necessary to establish contract academic programs. Hyundai Motor Company will present industry workforce needs and support the establishment of a practice‑oriented education system through curriculum consultation and participation of industry experts. In particular, Hyundai Motor Company employees and experts are expected to participate as visiting professors, industry–university collaboration professors, guest lecturers and project mentors.

The scale of recruitment linked to students who complete the contract programs, selection procedures and other details will be discussed separately in the future to reflect Hyundai Motor Company's business progress and workforce needs.

The three institutions will also progressively expand Collaborative Research and technological cooperation beyond educational collaboration. To this end, they will operate a "Technology Cooperation Forum" involving industry and university researchers, and plan to identify and carry out pilot collaborative research projects that connect Hyundai Motor Company's industry demands with JBNU's research capabilities.

Based on the results of the pilot projects, they will expand mid‑to‑long‑term Collaborative Research in Physical AI, robotics and energy, and link research outcomes to industrial application, technology exchange, technology transfer and commercialization.

JBNU plans to accelerate the cultivation of practice‑oriented professionals required by industry by expanding the participation of industry experts such as Hyeonja‑cha in the College of Intelligent Industrial Convergence and the JBNU Industry–Academia Advanced Research Institute that it is promoting.

At the same time, they will enhance undergraduate and graduate curricula in regional growth‑engine fields, expand project‑based education using companies' actual R&D projects and field‑oriented extracurricular programs, and accelerate the creation of a regional innovation ecosystem where outstanding talent can learn, find employment and settle in the region.

In particular, the agreement aligns with Hyundai Motor Company's large‑scale investment plans in Saemangeum and shares the same direction as national balanced development. Since securing talent development and research infrastructure to support industrial investment settling in the region is essential, JBNU is expected to become a supply base for future industry talent and a research and development hub.

President Yang O‑bong said, "This agreement is the starting point of a new Industry–University Collaboration model that goes beyond training talent to meet corporate workforce needs; it connects education and research, recruitment and regional settlement into a single system. By combining JBNU's education and research capabilities with Hyundai Motor Company's industrial capacity, we will cultivate national‑level talent to lead Physical AI, robotics and hydrogen energy."

He added, "We will establish an open cooperation system centered on the College of Intelligent Industrial Convergence and the Industry–Academia Advanced Research Institute in which companies directly participate in education and research, and ensure that collaborative research outcomes lead to the growth of local companies and the creation of quality jobs. We will do our utmost to ensure that this agreement becomes a representative practical model of the 'Growth Engine–Linked Talent Development Plan' that simultaneously achieves regional talent development and national balanced development."