Seoul National University Trains U.S. Shipbuilding Talent

Main gate of Seoul National University Gwanak Campus (Provided by Yonhap News)  As the promotion of 'MASGA (Make American Shipbuilding Great Again),' a US-Korea shipbuilding cooperation project amounting to $150 billion, accelerates, Seoul National University takes on the role of an outpost for cultivating local US shipbuilding talent. The Department of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering at Seoul National University was finally selected on Oct. 2 after submitting a plan to train US shipbuilding personnel to the 'US-Korea Strategic Partnership Initiative' project competition hosted by the US Embassy in Korea. With this project selection, Seoul National University will receive a subsidy of $100,000 (about 130 million won) to embark on full-scale educational cooperation. Through this project, Seoul National University will select 10 students from the University of Michigan and San Diego State University in the United States. They plan to form teams with 10 Seoul National University students to conduct joint academic research in the fields of ship design and production. The program will not stop at simple theoretical education, but will also provide opportunities to directly experience Korea's advanced shipbuilding technology. Participating students will complete a program to build practical skills by directly visiting major domestic industrial sites, including HD Hyundai and Hanwha Ocean shipyards. Seoul National University will also be deeply involved in the curriculum restructuring of local US universities that lack educational infrastructure. It is currently discussing with the local counterpart a plan to establish a related minor at San Diego State University, which does not currently have a department of naval architecture and ocean engineering. Furthermore, the establishment of a linked bachelor's and master's program, in which graduates who have completed their bachelor's degree at San Diego State University complete their master's degree at Seoul National University, is also under review. As the MASGA project, which aims to rebuild the US shipbuilding industry, faces the task of securing human resources, this talent training project by Seoul National University is expected to become a practical driving force for US-Korea strategic economic cooperation.