“Each year, 850 students enroll in Seoul National University, but only 750 actually graduate. The engineering college of Seoul National University has a mission to produce manufacturing talent for South Korea, and I was greatly shocked by this number, prompting me to contemplate what actions should be taken.”

Kim Young-oh, dean of the engineering college at Seoul National University, unveiled the Excel (Education for X-Caliber Engineering Leaders) engineering innovation talent project at the 'Issue & Voice' forum held on the 17th at the university's Gwanak campus.

The Excel project is a program that selects 40 undergraduate students each year and provides a total of 90 million won over three years. It grants 20 million won in scholarships and 10 million won for research each year. Dean Kim noted, “I was inspired to create this project after witnessing young geniuses from China during the DeepSeek shock in the AI industry,” adding, “We plan to select and support outstanding undergraduate researchers.”

On the 17th, at the Haedong Advanced Engineering Hall of Seoul National University’s Gwanak Campus, experts discuss innovation plans for engineering talent at the 'Issue & Voice' forum. From left: Lee Kwang-bok, former Chairman of the National Research Foundation of Korea; Shin Hyun-woo, Visiting Professor of Aerospace Engineering at Seoul National University; Ahn Jun-mo, Professor of Public Administration at Korea University; Song Jae-jun, GCIO of Com2uS and CEO of Crit Ventures; Ahn Sang-il, Partner at Altos Ventures; and Park Joo-young, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Seoul National University. /Courtesy of Lee Jong-hyun, Reporter.

The Excel project does not select top-tier talent based on admission scores or undergraduate performance. Dean Kim said, “We aim to select students who ask the ‘first question’ regardless of grades,” adding, “Our goal is to pick students with potential, even if they ask unconventional questions.” To this end, the engineering college of Seoul National University has also established a task force to determine student selection methods.

There are also plans for cultivating overseas talent by attracting outstanding undergraduate students from developing countries. Dean Kim stated, “We plan to interview and select 20 first-year students from top universities in developing countries each year,” and added, “Selected students will be transferred to the second year of the engineering college at Seoul National University and receive 20 million won annually for three years to encourage them to settle in the country.” The engineering college has announced that it is discussing concrete exchange plans with two universities in Vietnam.

The forum aimed to present policies for cultivating engineering talent in line with the launch of the new government and to discuss the role of Seoul National University’s engineering college as a research-oriented university. Experts attending the forum also proposed strategies for nurturing engineering talent at the government level.

Ahn Jun-mo, a professor of public administration at Korea University, emphasized the need for improving regulations at universities. Professor Ahn pointed out, “Seoul National University is subject to both metropolitan area regulations and national university regulations, making it difficult to realize good ideas,” and urged, “Various regulations related to universities should be addressed as a turnkey solution.”

Song Jae-jun, Global Chief Investment Officer of Com2uS and head of Kreet Ventures, as well as Ahn Sang-il, a partner at Altos Ventures, emphasized the need for active investment in startups. Partner Ahn said, “Please provide one of the old buildings at Seoul National University for startup club students to use freely as a playground for interaction,” while Representative Song called for the activation of donation systems and improvements to the military service exemption system.

Dean Kim suggested promoting a 'Korean-style 천인계획' to select and nurture about 1,000 students annually from the 100,000 science and engineering college admissions quota. He also proposed establishing a national AI innovation research institute that guarantees salaries of over 500 million won for 200 PhD-level talents.