Ministry of Science and ICT opens AI semiconductor research institute at Seoul National University, targets 110 graduate students

The Ministry of Science and ICT has opened an AI Semiconductor Innovation Institute at Seoul National University to train top talent for next-generation AI chip development. The institute will conduct joint research with industry partners to advance high-performance, energy-efficient AI semiconductor technology, with a goal of producing more than 110 master's and doctoral graduates over six years.

The ministry said Tuesday it held an opening ceremony for the institute at Seoul National University's Inter-university Semiconductor Research Center, together with the Institute for Information and Communications Technology Planning and Evaluation (IITP).

About 50 people attended the event, including Seoul National University Vice President for Planning Kim Jun-gi, Professor Ryu Su-jeong, who will serve as director of the institute, other faculty and graduate students, Ministry of Science and ICT Director General for ICT Policy Lee Do-gyu, IITP Strategic Planning Division Head Shin Jun-woo, and representatives from the AI semiconductor industry.

The institute was established as part of a program to cultivate leading AI semiconductor talent through industry-academia collaboration, under National Agenda Item 22, "Securing Superleap AI Technologies and Talent." The government selected Yonsei University and Sungkyunkwan University last year, then added Hanyang University and Seoul National University this year to broaden the pipeline of core talent in the AI semiconductor field.

The ministry said the institute's mission is to train practice-ready professionals who can enter industry upon graduation, with a focus on collaboration among large companies, small and medium-sized enterprises, fabless firms and universities. Starting this year, all participants are required to produce an NPU-based research project. The institute also plans to build an integrated talent development system linking education, research, internships and employment with partner companies.

The institute is organized around Director Ryu Su-jeong and comprises five research centers. Partner companies participating in each center include LG Electronics, Furiosa AI, Xenoscube Korea, Analog AI and Squeezebits.

The Ministry of Science and ICT plans to provide the Seoul National University institute with an average of 2 billion won ($1.48 million) per year for up to six years, training at least 20 master's and doctoral students annually for a total of more than 110. The support also covers specialized technical education and corporate placement programs for students.

Building on the institute's programs, the ministry aims to create a full-cycle AI semiconductor ecosystem spanning research and development, technology evaluation and verification, and linkages to industry demand.

"As AI semiconductors rapidly evolve toward high performance and ultra-low power consumption, it is essential to concentrate next-generation AI semiconductor capabilities to build a full-package K-AI semiconductor ecosystem," said Lee Do-gyu, director general for ICT policy at the Ministry of Science and ICT. "We will strengthen industry-academia collaboration centered on the Seoul National University AI Semiconductor Innovation Institute to generate world-class research outcomes and support the development of core talent."