Samsung's youth talent development program, Samsung Youth Software (SW) Academy (hereinafter SSAFY), has been entirely revamped into an artificial intelligence (AI) focused curriculum. The aim is to cultivate practical talent equipped with AI skills to enhance job competitiveness among young people and to expand the domestic AI and software ecosystem.
Samsung changed the official name of SSAFY to 'Samsung Youth SW and AI Academy' and stated on the 24th that it would implement the 'SSAFY 2.0' curriculum, supporting students to directly utilize AI models.
The core is the strengthening of AI education, with eight new specialized AI training courses introduced and the total annual training hours increased from 1,600 hours to 1,725 hours. Of this, approximately 60%, or 1,025 hours, is dedicated to AI education and related practical training.
SSAFY students will gain basic knowledge through introductory AI lectures in the first semester and subsequently receive sequential training in AI programming and other intermediate to advanced courses to acquire the ability to understand the entire field of AI.
In the second semester, they will attend special lectures on AI practice and form teams with other students to plan and operate projects, cultivating practical skills that allow them to be deployed in the field at any time.
SSAFY has also opened its own learning platform, 'SSAFY AI Portal', to enable students to acquire AI-related knowledge through self-directed learning. Students can take AI online lectures anytime through the 'SSAFY AI Portal' and freely share AI knowledge and know-how among themselves.
Additionally, SSAFY provides a systematic infrastructure that includes a high-performance GPU (graphics processing unit) management system necessary to smoothly conduct AI model training tasks, allowing students to carry out practical-level model training and experiments freely.
Launched in 2018 as part of Samsung's 'Economic revitalization and job creation plan,' SSAFY is recognized as Samsung's representative corporate social responsibility (CSR) program, contributing to enhancing job competitiveness for young people as well as expanding the domestic AI and software ecosystem.
To provide practical assistance for SSAFY students' employment, Samsung conducts job fairs and corporate briefings and operates career counseling centers, offering ongoing support for career guidance, interview consulting, and job information. Employees from Samsung affiliates also participate in the training process as mentors, donating their talents.
All SSAFY training courses are free of charge, and students are also provided with a monthly educational support stipend of 1 million won to allow them to focus solely on their studies.
The cumulative employment rate up to the 11th cohort has reached 85%, and when including early job seekers from the current 13th cohort, the total number of employed graduates has surpassed 8,000. As the practical competencies of graduates have been proven, over 170 corporations are implementing preferential policies that grant advantages during hiring.
Efforts to collaborate with the government and industry continue to nurture AI and software talent. Recently, an agreement was extended with the Ministry of Employment and Labor for SSAFY's operational support, and collaboration continues with five major banks, including Shinhan and Woori Bank, to cultivate specialized developers in finance.
Meanwhile, on the 24th, Samsung held a graduation ceremony for the 12th cohort at the SSAFY Seoul Campus in Gangnam, Seoul. Attendees included Vice Minister Kim Min-seok of the Ministry of Employment and Labor, lawmakers Lee Yong-woo, Woo Jae-jun, Lee Hae-min, and Lee Joo-young, and President Park Seung-hee of Samsung Electronics, along with about 100 outstanding graduates and their families. At this event, President Park Seung-hee urged, "I hope all of you graduates will trust in your passion and diligence and become developers who make the world a little warmer and more convenient."