Korea Water Resources Corporation, Gachon University launch 'AI for Climate Tech' program to nurture young entrepreneurs

Korea Water Resources Corporation (K-water) held the opening ceremony of "AI for Climate Tech," an industry-academia startup incubation program developed jointly with Gachon University, at its headquarters in Daejeon on Wednesday.

The program was launched as part of an MOU the two institutions signed last November to build an AI-driven innovation and startup ecosystem in the water sector.

K-water said it plans to use the program to identify innovative solutions for addressing climate change and to serve as a catalyst for a startup ecosystem that nurtures aspiring young entrepreneurs in the climate technology field.

Gachon University has opened the program as a regular second-semester course for the 2026 academic year, selecting 24 students to participate. Divided into six teams, the students will spend the next three months in a hands-on testing environment called "Search Space," provided by K-water, where they will design and develop applications, AI algorithms and other outputs aimed at solving water and climate-related problems.

Search Space operates with two designated assignments and one open-ended assignment.

The designated assignments are the development of an algae-detection algorithm using unmanned drone footage and the development of an AI model for detecting urban flooding and river overflow through CCTV video analysis; the necessary data for each will be provided to participants.

For the open-ended assignment — developing a new solar power generation forecasting technology that combines meteorological data with deep learning — students will receive only minimal baseline data. They will be expected to independently identify and integrate the additional data needed to produce an optimal prediction algorithm.

To strengthen the program's practical impact, K-water will assign in-house subject-matter experts as "domain mentors" and hands-on practitioners as "AI mentors" to assist with data use and analysis. The corporation also plans to support students' use of generative AI to sharpen their problem-definition and solution-development skills.

Outstanding ideas and results identified through an end-of-semester review will be recognized with awards and given follow-on support through internal and external startup programs and startup competitions, with the aim of turning them into real ventures.

Han Seong-yong, head of K-water's Green Infrastructure Division, said the corporation would "actively provide an evidence-based Search Space so that students can define problems from the user's perspective and verify their solutions." He added that K-water would "spare no effort in offering field-centered education and support so that students' creative ideas can grow into the seeds of climate tech startups."