International students throw their graduation caps at their graduation ceremony at Dong-A University, Busan. Dong-A University is one of the five univeristies that were selected as participating universities of the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology's employment support initiative for international students.YONHAP
The Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology (KIAT) will launch an initiative to help international students secure jobs at companies based in partner regions, KIAT announced on Tuesday.
For this year’s inaugural batch of KIAT’s new industry-linked initiative, Kunsan National University, Dong-A University, Inje University, Jeju National University and Chungnam National University were selected as participating universities. The universities will carry out five career-related projects over a five-year period and will also be required to implement follow-up management measures, including monitoring international students' settlement and retention rates.
Through the new initiative, participating students will be able to take part in two months of internships with regional companies, engage in research and development projects for four to 10 months and join other career-related programs in partnership with local businesses. Most of the internships and programs will focus on “regional strategic industries” such as robotics, secondary batteries, future mobility and green energy.
According to KIAT, Global Korea Scholarship recipients pursuing master’s or doctoral degrees in STEM fields at four-year universities outside the greater Seoul area are eligible to apply for the new initiative, which combines industry-academia-linked projects and corporate internships conducted in partnership with companies in each region.
As one of the five selected universities, Dong-A University, based in Busan, will receive a total of 4.1 billion won ($2.72 million) over five years for the project, the university said on Tuesday. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources and KIAT will provide up to 3 billion won in support to each selected university.
In line with the new initiative, the university said it plans to foster international talent in seven deep tech-driven fields, including industrial and management engineering, mechanical engineering, advanced materials engineering, computer and AI engineering, health care, food and nutrition and physical education.
Dong-A University said it plans to select 20 international students every year and focus on educating and training master’s and PhD level talent in the seven major deep tech sectors in the region. Through the programs, the university said it aims to train a total of 100 foreign master’s and doctoral students and complete over 100 industry-academic projects over five years to help resolve chronic research and development work force mismatches faced by small- and medium-sized companies in the region.
Detailed plans for Kunsan National University in North Jeolla, Inje University in South Gyeongsang, Jeju National University in Jeju and Chungnam National University in Daejeon will be announced at a later time.
“Helping outstanding international students settle in regional areas is essential to addressing labor shortages faced by local industries and revitalizing economies in regions outside the greater Seoul area,” said Jeon Yoon-jong, president of KIAT. “We will try our utmost to support international students so they can become a key driving force behind regional growth.”
![International students throw their graduation caps at their graduation ceremony at Dong-A University, Busan. Dong-A University is one of the five univeristies that were selected as participating universities of the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology's employment support initiative for international students. [YONHAP]](https://image.koreajoongangdaily.com/12586719.webp?imageId=12586719&width=960&height=632&format=jpg)
