Gyeongsang National University bids for 'top 10 national university' program with South Gyeongsang Province's backing

South Gyeongsang Province is throwing its weight behind Gyeongsang National University as the school pursues selection in the Ministry of Education's 2026 Regional Hub National University Package Support Project — commonly known as the "Build 10 Seoul National Universities" initiative. The province plans to rally metropolitan and local governments to strengthen the university's competitiveness and develop the region into a hub for aerospace, defense education and research.

The Ministry of Education program will select three of the country's nine regional hub national universities — those deemed most prepared — and concentrate investment in building growth-engine brand colleges and AI education and research centers at each, South Gyeongsang Province said Monday. Selected universities will receive 100 billion won ($69.8 million) in state funding over five years. Key evaluation criteria include not only a university's own capacity for innovation but also its cooperation framework with local governments and the strength of the regional industrial base.

In response, South Gyeongsang Province signed a "Growth-Engine Linked Regional Talent Development MOU" with Gyeongsang National University, Busan and Ulsan. It then concluded a separate "Aerospace, Defense and Physical AI Talent Development and Specialized Campus Activation Agreement" with Jinju and Sacheon. The moves establish both a super-regional cooperation network spanning Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang Province and a ground-level implementation framework anchored in Jinju and Sacheon.

Gyeongsang National University is also accelerating its own preparations. Its brand college — the College of Aerospace and Defense — has completed the administrative procedures for establishment by restructuring the academic framework of the existing College of Aerospace, and will begin enrolling freshmen from the 2027 academic year, ahead of other regional hub national universities.

The university's specialized convergence research institute began joint-establishment discussions with the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) in February, then signed an agreement with Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) on July 14 to establish a joint research center set to launch in September. On the AI education and research front, the university created a president-level AI Strategy Committee and an AI Convergence Institute in April and is restructuring its academic programs around the School of AI Computer Engineering and the School of Manufacturing AI.

Kim Seong-gyu, director of South Gyeongsang Province's Education and Youth Bureau, said the agreements go beyond a simple declaration of support. "This is a concrete commitment to back Gyeongsang National University's capabilities with the industrial foundation of the Busan-Ulsan-South Gyeongsang region and the administrative capacity of local governments," he said. "We will do everything in our power to ensure Gyeongsang National University is selected and that South Gyeongsang Province emerges as a hub for aerospace and defense education and research."