Volkswagen Group Korea (CEO Till Scheer, www.vwgk.co.kr) has dispatched 10 students from the 4th cohort of the Sea:Me program, which is aimed at nurturing automotive specialized software talent in collaboration with the Volkswagen Group Our Foundation (hereinafter referred to as 'Our Foundation'), to Germany.
Sea:Me (SEA:ME, Software Engineering in Automotive and Mobility Ecosystems) is the flagship educational initiative of Our Foundation aimed at nurturing automotive software talent. To this end, Volkswagen Group Korea and its four brands (Volkswagen, Audi, Lamborghini, Bentley) are jointly funding and actively supporting related activities.
Sea:Me targets junior and senior students as well as those on leave from seven universities participating in the Advanced Innovative Convergence University (COSS) Future Automotive Consortium. Applications began last January, and after document screening, coding tests, and English interviews, the final 10 candidates were selected in June.
The selected students have been participating in the Sea:Me curriculum in Wolfsburg, Germany, since July 1. During the first six months, they will study embedded systems and subsequently choose from four modules—autonomous driving systems, mobility ecosystems, software safety, and cybersecurity—based on their learning pace.
Sea:Me is a master's level curriculum developed by about 25 fellows composed of experts from the automotive academic and industrial sectors in Germany and Korea, focused on mobility software, aiming to prepare students for employment in the mobility field within 12 months. It is characterized by a peer learning approach and project-based learning methodology, emphasizing key competencies such as communication and collaboration, problem-solving, and self-directed learning, based on open educational resources.
Since starting the first cohort in 2022, Volkswagen Group Korea and Our Foundation have selected a total of 24 students for dispatch to Germany by last year's third cohort. Graduates from the first and second cohorts, who successfully completed the program, have secured jobs in global corporations in the automotive and automotive software sectors. The third cohort dispatched last year has completed their education and practical training in Germany this year.
Since starting the first cohort in 2022, Volkswagen Group Korea and Our Foundation have selected a total of 24 students for dispatch to Germany by last year's third cohort. During the program, students from the second cohort achieved first place in the Bosch Connected Experience (BCX) hackathon and third place in the Bosch Future Mobility Challenge, while students from the third cohort the following year also won the Best Newcomer Award at the same competition and secured second place in the Eclipse SDV hackathon, demonstrating rapid growth. Graduates from the first and second cohorts, who successfully completed the program, have secured jobs in global corporations in the automotive and automotive software sectors. The third cohort dispatched last year has completed their education and practical training in Germany this year.
Till Scheer, CEO of Volkswagen Group Korea and chairman of the Volkswagen Group Our Foundation, noted, "Sea:Me is Our Foundation's flagship education and scholarship initiative that best demonstrates Volkswagen Group's direction toward becoming 'The Global Automotive Tech Driver.' Graduates are making their mark in the industry, proving the value of the program," and added, "We will actively support them in growing as mobility software experts and becoming leaders in industry transformation."
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