South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT said on Wednesday it will invest a total of 15 billion won this year to select 10 new AI innovation graduate schools, known as AX graduate schools.

While AI graduate schools have focused on developing and implementing AI technology itself to train "AI specialists", the AX graduate schools will cultivate "AX convergence talent" that combines domain expertise with AI technology to drive innovation, the ministry said.

The AX graduate schools aim to select a total of 22 universities by 2030 and produce at least 820 AX convergence graduates a year. Schools selected as AX graduate schools will receive up to six years of support (4+2 years), including annual funding of 3 billion won, or up to 16.5 billion won over six years.

Universities, as the lead research and development organisations, must form a consortium with companies, as joint R&D organisations, and submit applications by March 25. This year, the programme will be divided into a designated-field track and an open-call track, selecting five universities for each track.

Each AX graduate school will choose up to two convergence fields and pursue AX-focused research that applies AI. Companies and universities will jointly set up an "AX Research Cooperation Center" at each graduate school to serve as a hub for industry-academia AX cooperation. The ministry will also introduce a multiple-adviser system in which university faculty and adjunct professors from companies jointly supervise students.

An "AI and AX Graduate School Council" will also be operated to facilitate exchanges of results among graduate schools. The ministry will open courses related to AX technology startups to ensure research results lead to actual startups, and will strengthen joint research and internships with leading universities and companies overseas.

However, the four major science and technology institutes planning to establish AI colleges (KAIST, GIST, DGIST and UNIST) and the Education Ministry's AI hub universities cannot receive overlapping support under this project. Universities currently carrying out existing AI graduate school projects also cannot apply under the open-call track.

Bae Kyung-hoon (배경훈), deputy prime minister and minister of science and ICT, said, "To become one of the world's three leading AI powers, talent that can actually apply AI to our key industries such as manufacturing, biotech and energy is crucial." He added, "We will actively support industry and universities so that AX graduate schools can become a centre for cultivating the key talent needed."