The Ministry of Science and ICT and the Institute for Information & Communications Technology Planning & Evaluation (IITP) held an opening ceremony for the “AI Semiconductor Innovation Research Institute” on September 29 at the Seoul National University Joint Research Institute for Semiconductors. The Seoul National University Innovation Institute plans to train more than 110 master’s and doctoral-level core talents in AI semiconductors with government support for up to six years.
The opening ceremony was attended by approximately 50 people, including Seoul National University Vice President for Planning Kim Jun-ki and Professor Ryu Su-jeong, who serves as the director of the Innovation Research Institute, as well as faculty, staff, and graduate students; Lee Do-kyu, Director General of the Information and Communications Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Science and ICT; Shin Jun-woo, Head of the Strategic Planning Division at IITP; and representatives from the AI semiconductor industry.
The Innovation Research Institute is part of the “Industry-Academia-Research Collaboration for Training Leading AI Semiconductor Talent” project, which is being carried out as part of the national policy initiative “Securing Leading-Edge AI Technologies and Talent.” Following the selection of Yonsei University and Sungkyunkwan University in 2025, the government selected Hanyang University and Seoul National University this year. This brings the total number of universities operating Innovation Research Institutes to four. Through this initiative, the government aims to cultivate a broader pool of core talent in the AI semiconductor field based on industry-academia collaboration.
The project aims to cultivate practical talent—students who can be deployed directly into the workforce upon graduation—by having large and small-to-medium-sized enterprises, fabless companies (companies specializing in semiconductor design), and universities jointly operate research and education programs tailored to the needs of the industry. Starting this year, the government has designated the development of neural network processing unit (NPU)-based research projects as a mandatory requirement to strengthen students’ practical skills.
The Seoul National University Innovation Research Institute has established five research centers led by Director Ryu Su-jeong, who has over 20 years of industry experience. Each center includes partner organizations such as LG Electronics, FuriosaAI, GenosCube Korea, Analog AI, and Squeezebits, where university researchers, corporate employees, and master’s and doctoral students collaborate on joint research based on industry needs.
The institute plans to create a demand-driven ecosystem that spans the entire cycle—from research and development to technology evaluation and verification, and alignment with industry needs—and to establish a talent development system that seamlessly connects education, research, internships, and employment based on joint research and personnel exchanges with partner companies.
The government will provide an average of 2 billion won annually to the Seoul National University Innovation Research Institute for up to six years (3+3 years). This year, the first year of the program, 1 billion won will be invested to train 10 students, and thereafter, 20 master’s and doctoral students will be trained each year. The institute will also support specialized technical training and corporate placement programs for students.
Lee Do-kyu, Director General of the Information and Communications Policy Bureau, stated, “As AI semiconductors are rapidly evolving toward high performance and ultra-low power consumption, it is essential to consolidate next-generation AI semiconductor technology capabilities to successfully build a full-package K-AI semiconductor ecosystem,” and “The government will spare no effort in providing support to strengthen industry-academia collaboration, centered on Seoul National University’s AI Semiconductor Innovation Research Institute, so that we can produce world-class research results and cultivate key talent,” he added.
