The Next Generation Communication Innovation Convergence College Project Team at Kookmin University (President Jung Seung-ryul) and the College of Innovative Convergence for Next Generation Communication (Director Park Jun-seok) have entered the second phase of the Ministry of Education and the National Research Foundation's “College of Innovative Convergence for Advanced Fields (COSS) Project” with the participation of local governments. The project will receive 10.2 billion won in annual funding and will be carried out for a total of two years from 2025 to 2027.

The Advanced Convergence University Project is a national project to foster talent in advanced fields such as next-generation communications and artificial intelligence. The selected project teams will implement the talent development plan established by the local government and universities in collaboration with financial support during the project period. The Next-Generation Communications Project Team is a consortium (union) consisting of five universities, including Kookmin University as the host university, the University of Seoul, Ulsan University of Science, Chonnam National University, Korea Aerospace University, and the local government of Gwangju Metropolitan City. It was selected in 2023 and operated the first stage of the project until the beginning of this year.

During the first stage of the project, the project team attempted various projects with the vision of presenting new standards for the next-generation communication innovation education system and the goal of fostering next-generation communication innovation talent through adaptation, communication, and experience. The university has strengthened its foundation for innovation-oriented education by establishing a new convergence curriculum involving two or more departments, focusing on education in cutting-edge fields, and revising university regulations to expand student choice. The university has promoted major projects including the development and operation of convergence curriculum based on next-generation communications, the operation of timely and relevant non-academic courses focused on industrial sites, corporate collaboration, the establishment of infrastructure related to next-generation communications, and the flexibility of the academic and faculty systems.

As a result, the number of students taking dual or minor courses in the new major in quantum security and next-generation communications, which was established through this project, increased by about 100% compared to the previous year, attracting the interest of students.

The main goals of the Next Generation Communication Business Group's second phase include operating joint courses in the field of next-generation communications, developing training programs for professionals to meet industry needs, and discovering global programs. The group's second phase also aims to innovate education methods by sharing excellent resources and infrastructure and through educational innovation.

An official from the project team said, “Based on the important educational achievements created during the first phase of the project, we will make further efforts to expand the base for cultivating key talent in the next-generation communication field in the second phase,” and expressed his ambition, “In the second phase, we will expand the range of opportunities so that students from science and engineering as well as non-science and engineering fields can easily participate in advanced field courses.”