150 billion KRW to be invested over five years to cultivate master’s and doctoral-level experts who will drive innovation in the battery field.

Gachon University was selected on the 12th for the "2025 Advanced Industry Specialization Graduate School Support Project (Battery)" organized by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. As a result, the university will receive 15 billion KRW annually for five years, totaling 150 billion KRW.

This project aims to establish and operate advanced industry specialization graduate schools to foster master's and doctoral-level innovative talents who will lead the nation’s advanced strategic industries, while also building a system to utilize them. This year, Gachon University was the only university nationwide to be selected, while last year’s selections included Yonsei University, POSTECH, and Hanyang University. With this selection, Gachon University will receive approximately 3 billion KRW annually over five years to build research equipment and educational environments, develop and operate educational programs, and carry out industry-academia projects in collaboration with companies.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy evaluated universities based on submitted documents and presentation assessments, examining their existing capabilities, graduate school operation plans, industry-academia cooperation activation plans, education and research capacity expansion plans, and the potential impact and applicability of the projects.

With this project selection, Gachon University plans to establish the Battery Specialization Graduate School within the first half of the year, building a “sustainable industry field-responsive battery practical talent cultivation education leading model.” The school will train master’s and doctoral-level professionals who can be directly deployed in key areas, including battery core materials, cell design, and advanced analysis. Over the next five years, Gachon University aims to nurture around 150 highly skilled technical personnel at the master’s and doctoral levels. The current Battery Engineering major has a capacity of 84 students (74 master’s and 10 doctoral candidates).

Gachon University has accumulated battery-specialized curricula and secured outstanding faculty through collaborative projects, such as the Ministry-led secondary battery talent cultivation project and the Advanced Field Innovative Convergence University Project. The university has also established systematic educational infrastructure, including dry rooms and practical training facilities required for the full-cycle process of secondary batteries.

In February, Gachon University also held an agreement ceremony with the Korea Electronics Technology Institute (KETI), an electronic and IT specialized production research institute under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, to establish and operate the Battery Specialization Graduate School. The two institutions will collaborate on joint research and academic-industry programs in the secondary battery field, utilizing Gachon University’s educational infrastructure and KETI’s operational expertise and research know-how. Both institutions will also share their high-cost analysis and evaluation infrastructure. Additionally, during vacations, the university plans to conduct on-site training for graduate students at the Battery Pilot Line at the Chungbuk Battery Industry Support Center in Ochang, North Chungcheong Province.

The school will operate a “close-guidance education system,” in which each student is jointly supervised by one Gachon University professor and one KETI researcher. To further enhance practical skills, researchers from KETI’s Next-Generation Battery Research Center will be appointed as adjunct professors at Gachon University.

In addition, Gachon University has taken the lead in battery specialization education and research by hosting international symposiums on the “Future of Secondary Battery Technology.” Last year, Professor Arumugam Manthiram from the University of Texas was invited as a speaker, followed by Professor Y. Shirley Meng from the University of Chicago this year.

President Lee Gilya of Gachon University stated, “We will continue to produce highly skilled professionals with global competitiveness in the secondary battery industry, supplying the talent needed by the nation and contributing to advancing the secondary battery industry into the global market.”