Yeungjin University selected for Education Ministry's specialized leading university program, notching 7 government grants this year

Yeungjin University in Daegu announced Thursday that it has been selected for the Ministry of Education and National Research Foundation of Korea's "2026 Specialized Leading University Development Project," bringing its total government-funded project wins to seven this year.

The project aims to strengthen the competitiveness of higher vocational education by restructuring academic departments around each institution's areas of strength and concentrating educational resources accordingly. It will run for five years from 2026 through 2030.

Yeungjin University plans to pursue specialization in advanced physical AI-based manufacturing in connection with the government's three major mega-projects. It will build an advanced mechanical technology college and revamp its curriculum to meet industry demand, training skilled technical professionals for the future manufacturing sector.

The specialized leading university program supports institutions in concentrating their educational capacity on areas of strength and tailoring their specialization to industry and regional conditions. Under the initiative, Yeungjin will establish an advanced mechanical technology college that integrates AI and robotics with mechanical design, processing and automation, with the goal of producing specialists for the future manufacturing industry.

The university will also overhaul its practice-centered curriculum to reflect industry demand, linking programs from associate degrees through bachelor's degree specialization tracks and professional technical master's degrees to strengthen practical competencies.

"This selection marks a new starting point for expanding the competitiveness of the customized education model that Yeungjin has created and developed into the advanced manufacturing sector of the physical AI era," President Choi Jae-young said. "We will further refine Yeungjin's distinctive customized education model and, centered on the advanced mechanical technology college, cultivate convergence-type technical professionals who will lead South Korea's advanced manufacturing industry."