The Ministry of Science and ICT has opened an ‘AI Semiconductor Innovation Research Institute’ at Hanyang University and will set out to train more than 110 master’s- and doctoral-level specialists over the next six years. The plan is to secure an industry-academia cooperation hub that will underpin the ‘K-AI Semiconductor Full Package’ ecosystem, in which everything from the chips to the software is filled with homegrown technology.
 [코리안투데이] Opening ceremony of Hanyang University’s AI Semiconductor Innovation Research Institute © 장형임 기자 |
The Ministry of Science and ICT (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister Bae Kyung-hoon), together with the Institute of Information & Communications Technology Planning & Evaluation (IITP, President Hong Jin-bae), announced that it held the opening ceremony of the ‘AI Semiconductor Innovation Research Institute’ at 10 a.m. on September 17 in the IT·BT Building of Hanyang University.
The event drew some 50 attendees, including Hanyang University Vice President for Research Ahn Jin-ho and Kwon Dae-woong, director of the AI Semiconductor Innovation Research Institute and professor in the Department of Electronic Engineering, along with faculty, staff and graduate students, as well as the Ministry’s Director General for Information and Communications Industry Policy, the head of IITP’s Digital Talent Development Group, and figures from the AI semiconductor industry. The participants celebrated the launch of the institute and shared time communicating with the students who will build their skills there.
The innovation research institute program is the ‘Industry-Academia-Research Linked AI Semiconductor Leading Technology Talent Development’ project, pursued as part of National Agenda No. 22, ‘Securing Insurmountable-Gap AI Leading Technology and Talent.’ After selecting Yonsei University and Sungkyunkwan University in 2025, the government additionally selected Hanyang University and Seoul National University in 2026, broadening the scope of industry-academia-based core talent development in the AI semiconductor field.
The institute brings together the capabilities of domestic large and small-and-medium enterprises, fabless firms (companies specializing in semiconductor design) and universities to run research and education programs tailored to the industrial field. The aim is to nurture practical, field-ready talent who can be deployed to industrial sites immediately upon graduation. In particular, starting this year, the format has been improved so that companies can participate not merely as ordinary participants but also as joint research and development institutions, and the derivation of NPU-based research projects has been made mandatory to further strengthen hands-on capabilities.
Hanyang University’s innovation research institute responds to the full-fledged arrival of the so-called ‘physical AI’ era, including on-device AI, robotics and mobility. This aligns with the government’s stance of designating the ‘building of a K-AI semiconductor full-package ecosystem’—filling everything from chips to software with homegrown technology—as one of its three mega-projects for support.
The institute is run under Director Kwon Dae-woong, who has more than seven years of industry experience, and comprises six research centers: ▲AI semiconductor device and circuit automation design ▲PIM system design ▲smart display ▲IoT robot NPU ▲intelligent chiplet design ▲AI algorithms. PIM refers to next-generation semiconductors that maximize performance by adding computing functions inside memory chips, while an NPU is a processor that learns and processes information in a manner similar to the neurons of the human brain.
Participating in each center as joint and cooperating institutions are DB HiTek, SK hynix, Samsung Display, LG Electronics, DEEPX and Anute, among others. University research teams, corporate employees and master’s and doctoral students will be closely linked to carry out in-depth industry-academia cooperative research centered on actual research topics.
The institute will receive government support of an average of 2 billion won per year (1 billion won in the first year) for up to six years (three plus three years). On this basis, it plans to cultivate more than 110 advanced master’s- and doctoral-level talents at a rate of 20 per year (10 in 2026, the first year), and to support specialized technical education and corporate dispatch programs. By narrowing the gap between the competencies the industrial field demands and school education, it is expected to become a channel through which young researchers can chart stable career paths.
Park Tae-wan, Director General for Information and Communications Industry Policy at the Ministry of Science and ICT, said, ‘To lead next-generation AI semiconductor technologies such as high-performance, high-energy-efficiency AI chips, NPUs and AI algorithms, it is important for companies and universities to build a close partnership and to create an industry-academia cooperation ecosystem in which they grow together.’ He added, ‘The government will spare no support so that Hanyang University’s AI Semiconductor Innovation Research Institute can establish itself as a hub of industry-academia cooperation that drives cutting-edge technology development and the training of core talent.’
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