Volkswagen Group Korea moves to cultivate next-generation automotive software talent

Volkswagen Group Korea announced Monday that it had signed an agreement through its nonprofit Volkswagen Group Woori Foundation with the Institute of Automotive Engineering (IAE) — an affiliate of the Niedersachsen Research Centre for Vehicle Technology (NFF) at Technische Universität Braunschweig in Germany — and the Korean University Consortium (KUC).

The three organizations plan to build a global cooperation framework for cultivating next-generation automotive software talent through what they are calling an "Automotive Future Talent Development Program."

The partnership focuses on helping Korean students gain hands-on experience and technical competitiveness at leading global research institutions, amid rapid change in the automotive industry driven by software-defined vehicles (SDVs), AI and autonomous driving.

Under Volkswagen Group Korea's support, the Volkswagen Group Woori Foundation will oversee the program's overall operations, while the IAE will lead local research and development activities on behalf of the NFF. The IAE is a specialized automotive research institute at TU Braunschweig and an affiliate of the NFF — a multidisciplinary mobility convergence research center — where it heads the "Autonomous and Connected Driving" research division. The KUC, comprising Kookmin University, Ajou University, Inha University and Chungbuk National University, will handle student selection, domestic curriculum development and program outreach.

Running from 2027 through 2029, the three-year program is built around two core pillars: IAE research projects and a Korea-based curriculum.

The Germany dispatch program will select up to 10 outstanding undergraduate students from KUC member universities each year. Selected students will participate in IAE research activities for 12 months, carrying out advanced research projects under one-on-one mentoring from local researchers.

Students will have the opportunity to take part directly in projects using a broad range of research infrastructure — including development of the control stack for "Lion," a Level 4 autonomous driving shuttle, and its real-road validation; the "Luna" multimodal sensor fusion research vehicle project; a driving simulator (DVRS); and a real-road testbed (Ci2Ci). They will also share project results with researchers from various fields through regular colloquia, gaining valuable global collaboration experience.

On the domestic side, the program will focus on developing and disseminating a curriculum that reflects the latest technology trends in the automotive industry. The four-university consortium plans to support micro-degree and credit completion by linking four core modules — automotive embedded systems (AES), autonomous driving systems (ADS), automotive AI (AAI) and automotive cybersecurity (ACS) — with existing courses such as capstone design.

Till Scheer, president and CEO of Volkswagen Group Korea and chairman of the Volkswagen Group Woori Foundation, said the partnership carries special significance as major industry-academia institutions from Korea and Germany have come together to build a solid cooperation framework for developing core talent in automotive software. "Building on the strong synergy between our German partner institution and Korean universities, we will continue to serve as a firm bridge so that talented Korean students can grow into automotive software professionals who make their mark on the global stage," he said.

Meanwhile, Volkswagen Group Korea has been actively engaged in fostering future mobility talent through the Volkswagen Group Woori Foundation, including hosting the "2026 C:ME Hackathon," an automotive software development competition held recently.