KUALA LUMPUR - The Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology (KIAT) is set to launch a new initiative aimed at helping international students secure employment with companies based in regional areas across South Korea.

KIAT announced the initiative on May 26, as reported by Korea JoongAng Daily.

Five universities were selected for the inaugural batch of the industry-linked programme.

They are Kunsan National University, Dong-A University, Inje University, Jeju National University and Chungnam National University.

The participating universities will carry out five career-related projects over a five-year period.

They will also be required to implement follow-up measures, including monitoring international students’ settlement and retention rates.

Under the initiative, students will be offered two-month internships with regional companies.

They will also be able to participate in research and development projects lasting between four and 10 months.

Additional career-related programmes will be conducted in partnership with local businesses.

Most of the programmes will focus on regional strategic industries such as robotics, secondary batteries, future mobility and green energy.

KIAT said recipients of the Global Korea Scholarship pursuing master’s or doctoral degrees in STEM-related fields at four-year universities outside the greater Seoul area are eligible to apply.

The initiative combines industry-academia projects with corporate internships conducted alongside companies in each region.

Dong-A University in Busan said it would receive a total of 4.1 billion won over five years for the project.

The university said the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and KIAT would provide up to 3 billion won in support to each selected institution.

In line with the initiative, Dong-A University said it plans to develop international talent across seven deep tech-related sectors.

These include industrial and management engineering, mechanical engineering, advanced materials engineering, computer and AI engineering, healthcare, food and nutrition, and physical education.

The university said it plans to select 20 international students annually.

It also aims to train a total of 100 foreign master’s and doctoral students over five years.

More than 100 industry-academic projects are expected to be completed during the same period to help address long-standing research and development workforce shortages faced by small and medium-sized enterprises in the region.

Detailed plans for the other participating universities will be announced later.

“Helping outstanding international students settle in regional areas is essential to addressing labor shortages faced by local industries and revitalizing economies in regions outside the greater Seoul area.

“We will try our utmost to support international students so they can become a key driving force behind regional growth,” KIAT president Jeon Yoon-jong said.