Kookmin University (President Jeong Seung Ryul) announced on the 15th that it is partnering with a German research institute, major Korean universities, and the Volkswagen Group’s Woori Foundation to cultivate global talent in the field of future automotive software.
 
On September 3, Kookmin University, along with Ajou University, Inha University, Chungbuk National University, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Lower Saxony Automotive Research Center (NFF) and the Institute of Automotive Engineering (IAE)—both affiliated with the Technical University of Braunschweig (TU Braunschweig) in Germany—as well as the Volkswagen Group Woori Foundation, to launch the “Automotive Future Talent Fostering Program.”
 
This agreement was initiated to cultivate future mobility talent equipped with international research experience and interdisciplinary practical skills, amid the rapid restructuring of the entire automotive industry driven by advancements in software-defined vehicles (SDV), artificial intelligence (AI), and autonomous driving technology.
 
As the lead university in the consortium, Kookmin University will spearhead educational and research collaboration among participating universities and play a pivotal role in student selection, the development of domestic curricula, and the expansion of the program. Through this initiative, the university plans to support students in gaining experience that bridges domestic coursework with overseas research environments and in developing the problem-solving skills required by the future automotive industry.
 
The program will run for three years, from 2027 to 2029. Each year, outstanding undergraduate students from KUC will be selected and dispatched to research sites at IAE and NFF in Germany, where they will have the opportunity to participate in research projects in future mobility fields—such as autonomous driving, automotive artificial intelligence, and vehicle software—alongside local researchers.
 
Selected students will spend approximately 12 months in a local research environment in Germany, participating in activities such as project execution, mentoring, and sharing research results, thereby enhancing their global collaboration skills. Through this program, Kookmin University expects students to move beyond theory-based learning and gain hands-on experience in real R&D environments and international collaborative research processes.
 
Domestic curricula will also be strengthened. KUC will develop educational modules centered on key topics in future automotive software, such as automotive embedded systems, autonomous driving systems, automotive AI, and automotive cybersecurity. Each university plans to integrate these modules into existing major courses and capstone design projects to support students’ interdisciplinary learning and credit completion.
 
Additionally, the university will operate extracurricular programs—such as autonomous driving and AI hackathons, study clubs, and industry alumni mentoring—to help students enhance not only their major-specific knowledge but also their collaboration skills and understanding of the industrial field.
 
The signing ceremony, held on September 3 at the Volkswagen Group Korea headquarters, was attended by Kookmin University President Jeong Seung Ryul, along with Till Scheer, President and CEO of Volkswagen Group Korea and Chairman of the Volkswagen Group Woori Foundation; Roman Henze, Director of the IAE; and Maximilian Flormann, Head of Department at the IAE, among other officials.
 
Kookmin University President Jeong Seung Ryul stated, “Based on our partnership with Volkswagen Group Korea and the Volkswagen Group Woori Foundation, we are now able to further expand our collaboration with Germany’s IAE and NFF,” adding, “We will develop this collaboration into a global industry-academia partnership model for cultivating practice-oriented, interdisciplinary software talent in the future automotive sector who will excel on the world stage.”
 
Kookmin University plans to continue strengthening its educational and research competitiveness in cutting-edge industries such as future mobility, artificial intelligence, and software, and to continuously develop and operate industry-academia collaboration programs aimed at expanding students’ global research experiences and career opportunities.

△ Photo: (From left) Director Roman Henze, CEO and President Til Scheer, and President Jeong Seung Ryul