As the South Korean government moves to expand the number of schools for gifted students, the science, technology and education communities have defined the kind of talent the artificial intelligence era demands as "SPARK" talent.
According to a report titled "Proposed Operating Model for Gifted Education in the AI Era," which the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) submitted to the Ministry of Science and ICT late last month, the planning office for a KAIST-affiliated gifted school distilled the goal of gifted education into "nurturing SPARK talent." SPARK is an acronym for five profiles: Synergy, or convergence-oriented; Pioneer, or innovation-oriented; Ambassador, or leadership-oriented; Research, or research-oriented; and K-Entrepreneurship, or startup-oriented.
The study, including the definition of the talent profiles, was based on two rounds of Delphi surveys conducted in April with 22 experts, including professors specializing in AI; a three-week survey in June and July of 115 researchers and faculty members at the country's four science and technology institutes and the Korea Science Academy of KAIST; and advisory meetings with 19 experts in gifted education.
Among the five profiles, experts placed the greatest emphasis on research-oriented talent capable of leading advances in science and technology. The 115 experts rated the importance of research-oriented talent at an average of 4.37 out of 5, the highest score, followed by innovation-oriented talent at 4.34, convergence-oriented at 4.28, leadership-oriented at 4.03 and startup-oriented at 4.01.
Asked which core competencies the government's planned AI-focused gifted schools should emphasize, 50.4%, or 58 respondents, cited foundational academic skills as most important, the largest share. AI skills ranked first for 36.5%, or 42 respondents. The researchers said the finding "suggests that AI-focused education needs to be designed not merely around using the latest AI technologies, but around understanding and applying AI on a foundation of basic disciplines such as mathematics and science."
The experts also stressed that 10% to 15% of the curriculum at gifted schools should be devoted to AI education. Of the 115 respondents, 25 said allocating 10% to AI education would be appropriate, the most common answer, followed by 23 who said 15% would be appropriate.
The government plans to convert about three schools into science academies affiliated with the science and technology institutes, following an evaluation by the Ministry of Science and ICT next month and deliberation by the Education Ministry's Central Committee for the Promotion of Gifted Education in December. The science ministry plans to provide up to 45 billion won to the selected schools.