As global interest in the K-defense industry rises, Jeonbuk National University, which launched a related department this year, is also accelerating its efforts. The university is entering into successive partnerships with domestic and overseas specialized institutions and companies, simultaneously expanding talent cultivation and research as it prepares to become a core hub in the defense sector.

Jeonbuk National University announced on the 29th that it has recently established a mid- to long-term cooperation framework with Thales Group, one of Europe’s leading defense companies, to foster future talent based on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and to expand industry-academia collaboration. Thales is a company with global competitiveness in various fields including aerospace, defense, and cybersecurity, and it has been operating in Korea for more than 40 years. This agreement represents a new cooperation model in which a global defense company directly connects with a domestic university to nurture talent.

Under the agreement, Thales plans to operate a scholarship program for undergraduate students of Jeonbuk National University’s Department of Advanced Defense Industry. This is the first time Thales has introduced a scholarship program at a Korean university. According to the university, this case demonstrates that global defense companies’ talent acquisition strategies are expanding into Korean higher education. Starting with this initiative, the two institutions plan to gradually broaden concrete cooperation programs such as mentoring and internship linkages.

Through this agreement, Jeonbuk National University aims to systematize a connected structure encompassing scholarships, mentoring, and internships, thereby increasing the number of students with direct experience of the global industrial environment and, based on their experience, systematically fostering next-generation talent who will lead the K-defense industry.

Prior to this, Jeonbuk National University signed a business agreement with the Agency for Defense Development (ADD) to respond organically to rapidly changing battlefield conditions and shifts in the global security environment centered on artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced technologies, and to enhance the nation’s competitiveness in defense science and technology. Under the agreement, the two institutions will build an organic cooperation system to promote research and development in defense science and technology and to cultivate specialized personnel. In particular, they plan to expand cooperation in areas such as advanced weapon systems, AI-based defense technologies, unmanned and autonomous systems, test and evaluation, and new defense materials.

At the end of last month, the “Jeonbuk National University–Purdue University Advanced Research Institute” also opened its doors in the university’s Industry-Academia Convergence Plaza. Purdue University is a leading U.S. research university recognized for its global competitiveness in advanced technology fields such as engineering, aerospace, and semiconductors. Through this advanced research institute, Jeonbuk National University plans to establish an industry-academia-research cooperation model by jointly planning and carrying out large-scale government research projects with key researchers in Purdue’s mechanical engineering field. The university also intends to invite renowned Purdue scholars as endowed professors to strengthen global talent development.

In addition, Jeonbuk National University held an “Advanced Defense Technology Exchange Seminar” with domestic companies. At the seminar, attended by faculty members of the Department of Advanced Defense Industry and executives from Hanwha Systems, participants reviewed technology trends in key future defense industry fields and discussed possibilities for cooperation, including △AI-based defense systems △unmanned and autonomous systems △maritime manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T) systems △advanced sensor, electronics, and communication technologies.

The Department of Advanced Defense Industry at Jeonbuk National University recorded a competition rate of 10.3 to 1 in the regular admission round for its first cohort of new students this year. In early admission, the competition rate was 12.3 to 1 for the comprehensive student record screening, 7 to 1 for the academic record-based screening, and 6.5 to 1 for the regional talent screening.

Yang O-bong, President of Jeonbuk National University, said, “The cooperation with the Agency for Defense Development and defense company Thales Group marks the starting point for designing the direction of future defense science and technology and for fostering future talent,” adding, “We will do our utmost to develop Jeonbuk National University into a key base supporting national security and advanced strategic industries.”

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