Kookmin University (President Jung Seung-ryul) and the Next Generation Communication Business Group (Director Park Jun-seok) have collaborated with Samsung Electronics to establish a new 'Next Generation Communication and IoT Micro-Degree' curriculum as part of the Advanced Field Innovation Convergence University project organized by the Ministry of Education and the National Research Foundation of Korea.

The curriculum is focused on corporate demand, and it is designed to proactively train field-oriented practical workers as the demand for talent in the fields of next-generation communications, IoT, and digital twins increases.

To this end, on November 27 (Wed), Kookmin University and Samsung Electronics signed a mutual business agreement at the Kookmin University Future Hall to create and spread a leading model of industry-academia cooperation and jointly promote the cultivation of outstanding talent and technical support to meet the demand in the field of next-generation communication and IoT solutions.

Through this MOU, the two organizations plan to actively cooperate not only in training next-generation communication and IoT professionals, but also in developing courses and building advanced educational environments.

The Next Generation Telecommunications Business Division plans to fully implement this curriculum starting in the first semester of 2025. The 'Next Generation Communication and IoT Micro-Degree' will be offered in intermediate and advanced courses, with the intermediate course consisting of three theoretical courses and a capstone design course, which is an experimental and practical course.

The advanced course focuses on the hands-on training of the 'Multidisciplinary Capstone Design (Samsung)' course.

The next-generation communication and IoT micro-degree program will be operated in two courses: the intermediate course and the advanced course. The intermediate course consists of three theoretical courses and a capstone design course, which is an experimental and practical course.

The advanced course focuses on the hands-on training of the 'Multidisciplinary Capstone Design (Samsung)' course. The unique feature of this class is that students, Samsung Electronics PMs, and instructors jointly carry out various project topics presented in the class, such as “Utilizing Samsung Electronics IoT Platform SmartThings.” To carry out the project, students are mentored in real time by Samsung Electronics employees and participating faculty members of the business group in the process of thinking, designing, and developing.

This curriculum is meaningful in that it is an educational model that meets the requirements for fostering core personnel with the capabilities required by companies and industries, while also realizing the vision of the Next Generation Telecommunications Business Group for fostering innovative talent.

The NXT also plans to create a dedicated lab for project implementation. In the 'SmartThings Lab', various IoT devices such as air conditioners and robot vacuum cleaners will be handled using a 5G-specialized network. The project team has previously built a 5G-specific network to create an advanced educational environment in the telecommunications sector.

The two companies plan to expand the industry-academia cooperation system to the universities participating in the Next Generation Convergence University Project, including Kookmin University, University of Seoul, Ulsan University of Science, Chonnam National University, and Korea Aerospace University, starting with Kookmin University, and will continue to seek ways to foster professionals in cutting-edge fields.