Volkswagen Group to Develop Next-Generation Automotive Talent in Korea Through Multilateral Industry-Academia Partnership with German University

[Financial News] Volkswagen Group is joining forces with four Korean universities and a German research institute to develop key next-generation automotive software talent. As the shift toward software-defined vehicles accelerates, the group aims to strengthen technological competitiveness by providing Korean undergraduates with hands-on experience in advanced global research settings, including Level 4 autonomous driving.
Volkswagen Group Korea announced on the 14th that, through the nonprofit Volkswagen Group WE: Foundation, it recently signed a business agreement with the Institute of Automotive Engineering (IAE), affiliated with the Lower Saxony Automotive Research Centre (NFF) at Technische Universität Braunschweig, and the Korean University Consortium (KUC) for the “Future Automotive Talent Development Program.” KUC includes Kookmin University, Ajou University, Inha University, and Chungbuk National University (CBNU).
This multilateral industry-academia partnership will operate for three years starting in 2027, with two main components: dispatching students to German IAE research projects and upgrading regular academic programs in Korea.
The centerpiece is a hands-on dispatch program in Germany. Up to 10 outstanding KUC undergraduates will be selected each year and sent to the German IAE for 12 months. Each student will be paired with a local researcher for one-on-one mentoring and assigned to advanced R&D projects, including the Level 4 autonomous shuttle “RAION” and the “LUNA” research vehicle for multimodal sensor fusion. Beyond simple observation, the students will directly conduct practical validation using driving simulators and real-road testbeds. They will also share project results with local researchers through regular colloquiums.
In Korea, KUC will lead a revamp of regular academic programs to reflect the latest technology trends. Four core modules—automotive embedded systems (AES), autonomous driving systems (ADS), automotive artificial intelligence (AAI), and automotive cybersecurity (ACS)—will be linked to existing courses such as capstone design, with microdegrees awarded upon completion. Annual autonomous-driving hackathons and mentoring by industry alumni will also be held to further advance the mobility education ecosystem.
Executives and academic leaders attending the signing ceremony expressed high expectations for industry-academia synergies between Korea and Germany.
Till Scheer, president and CEO of Volkswagen Group Korea, said, “This partnership is highly meaningful because major institutions in Korea and Germany have established a strong cooperation framework. Based on the synergy between our German partner institutions and Korean universities, we will serve as a reliable bridge to help Korean students grow into automotive software experts who can make their mark on the global stage.”
Roman Hentze, head of the German IAE, emphasized, “Combining the strong software capabilities of Korean universities with IAE’s advanced R&D environment will make a significant contribution to developing key talent capable of leading the global mobility ecosystem.” Jeong Seung Ryul, president of Kookmin University, added, “Through this partnership, we will develop it into a leading model of global industry-academia cooperation that cultivates practical, future automotive software convergence talent capable of competing on the world stage.”
[email protected] Kim Dong-ho Reporter