Professor Seong-whan Lee, who in charge of KU’s Department of Artificial Intelligence, said, “As they participate in the internship programs of world renowned corporations, graduate students will be given opportunities to hone their global senses.” KU plans to provide 50% of its AI graduate students with internship opportunities to allow them to gain hands-on experience in the field of AI. Moreover, KU will focus on nurturing startup intellectuals with concrete visions. It plans to utilize its startup infrastructure to support future AI graduates engaged in the tech startup process and create 10 or more outstanding venture firms by 2028.

To foster AI intellectuals with global competitiveness, all major courses in the AI department will be carried out in English. KU will offer foundation major courses such as deep learning, computer, vision, natural language processing, voice recognition, big data, and neural networks and advanced major courses that will concentrate on AI+X and four main applied impact areas (healthcare, AI agents, gaming, and automatic driving). This will be followed by a research and business curricula including internships and startups.

Offering AI Convergence Major Courses to Undergraduates

Recently, more and more world-class universities are becoming dedicated to AI education. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), for instance, is planning to offer AI courses to students majoring in the humanities and social sciences as well as the natural sciences and engineering in the upcoming fall semester.

KU has included AI convergence major courses into its undergraduate program. Through these AI convergence courses, students will be encouraged to learn fundamental knowledge with regard to the core technologies (IoT, cloud computing, and big data) required in the era of AI and the Fourth Industrial Revolution. These AI courses will allow students majoring in disciplines such as mechanical engineering, brain and cognitive science, biomedical engineering, industrial management engineering, electrical engineering, and computer science to engage in the process of learning how to incorporate and apply AI knowledge and develop new technology and generate new values from various perspectives. The College of Informatics, the home college of AI convergence major-related courses, will be collaborating with the College of Engineering, the School of Mechanical Engineering, the School of Electrical Engineering, the College of Information & Communication, the Department of Brain and Cognitive Engineering, the College of Health Science, and the Department of Biomedical Engineering. Students who achieve 36 credits or more by completing compulsory major courses including introduction to brain and machine learning probability and random process and elective major courses including AI, machine learning, and natural language processing will receive a bachelor’s degree in AI. Students who successfully received education in the undergraduate program are expected to further their studies in the AI graduate program and receive intensive education in the field of AI.

Playing a decisive role in nurturing future intellectuals through its founding mission of “National Salvation through Education” and becoming Korea’s first university to establish an AI graduate degree program, we hope to see KU become the cornerstone of innovation for future education.