Hanwha will start “cultivating local talent” in earnest to nurture university students in Gyeongnam ..

Establishment of contract departments and master’s courses
Link to employment through student funding and internships
Hanwha Aero, Hanwha Ocean, Hanwha Engine,
3 regional national universities and AI and aerospace talents
A new industry-academic cooperation model to prevent the outflow of young people

사진 확대 On the 12th, the ‘Convention Ceremony for the Cultivation of Human Resources in the Southeast Region’ was held at Hanwha Aerospace in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province. From left, Hanwha Engine CEO Kim Jong-seo, Hanwha Ocean CEO Heechul Kim, Pusan National University President Choi Jae-won, Busan Mayor Jeon Jae-soo, Gyeongnam Governor Park Wan-soo, Kyungsang National University President Kwon Jin-hoe, Changwon University President Park Min-won, and Hanwha Aerospace CEO Son Jae-il are signing the agreement. [Korean currency]

Hanwha will start “cultivating local talent” in earnest to nurture university students in Gyeongnam and Busan as key talents in future industries. Beyond signing agreements with universities, it is noteworthy that it is an industry-academic cooperation model that directly participates in the curriculum and connects student employment.

Hanwha Aerospace, Hanwha Ocean, and Hanwha Engine signed a business agreement with Gyeongsang National University, Changwon National University, and Busan National University on the 12th at the R&D center of Hanwha Aerospace 3 in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province.

South Gyeongsang Province and Busan City also participated in the agreement.

The key to this agreement is to narrow the distance between education and recruitment so that the knowledge learned at university directly leads to employment.

At Pusan National University, Hanwha’s contract department will be established, and Gyeongsang National University and Changwon National University will run master’s programs in the contract quota system. The plan is to develop professional manpower needed by companies from the university level, focusing on AI and advanced manufacturing fields.

Selected students receive student and living subsidies and internship opportunities in the course of their studies. After graduation, it can be connected to Hanwha Aerospace, Hanwha Ocean, and Hanwha Engine employment through a separate procedure. For students, the path of “major study → intern → employment” becomes clearer. Companies can also secure talented people with the necessary skills from the university level.

The areas Hanwha is particularly paying attention to in this agreement are AI and aerospace. This is because as physical AI incorporating AI into the manufacturing industry rapidly spreads and technological competition in the aerospace and defense industries intensifies, how quickly to secure the necessary talent is directly linked to corporate competitiveness.

Hanwha plans to expand joint research and technology exchanges by operating field-oriented education, special lectures, and seminars with universities, as well as fostering local talent. Support projects from the central government and local governments will also be discovered.

The project is also in line with Hanwha Group’s senior vice chairman Kim Dong-kwan’s plan to invest 55 trillion won in AI and aerospace fields in the Yeongnam region, which was announced at the National Report on the Development of Advanced Industries in the Yeongnam region held in Jinju, Gyeongsangnam-do last month. Senior Vice Chairman Kim emphasized a virtuous cycle structure in which local talents learned in the region, local companies challenged the global market, and local industries led the future, which means Hanwha began to move the idea to education and employment sites with this agreement.

Gyeongnam Province and Busan City also see the agreement as an opportunity to prevent the outflow of local young people to the metropolitan area and increase the competitiveness of local industries.

Both cities and provinces can be expected to have the effect of young people settling in the region and strengthening industrial competitiveness.

In Gyeongnam, large-scale manufacturing companies and suppliers such as aerospace, defense, and shipbuilding, including Hanwha Aerospace and Hanwha Ocean, are concentrated, and Busan also has a solid manufacturing base such as machinery, shipbuilding, and logistics. In other words, the industrial base has already been established in which talents produced by local universities can be linked to local companies.

Hanwha plans to build an AI and aerospace ecosystem in the Southeast region by not only fostering local talent but also improving technology of suppliers and expanding the shared growth of startups and research institutes.

“As South Gyeongsang Province is the home of South Korea’s manufacturing industry, such as nuclear power plants, defense, shipbuilding, and aerospace, it is most important to cultivate excellent local talents for the industry,” said Park Wan-soo, governor of South Gyeongsang Province. “We hope that it will be a starting point for a virtuous cycle that leads to talent training, industrial development, and corporate growth and again increases local settlement conditions.”

Busan Mayor Jeon Jae-soo also said, “We will actively support the curriculum, joint research, and recruitment so that we can create a new growth axis at the southern end of the Korean Peninsula and become a stepping stone for the Republic of Korea to move toward a two- and three-pole system.”

We will work closely with universities and local governments to help local talent lead to the growth of local companies, said Hanwha Ocean CEO Heechul Kim. “We will grow together with the region and become a strong partner in nurturing talent to lead future industries.”