South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT held the “Digital Youth Talent Talk Concert@CES 2026” in Las Vegas on Jan. 6 local time and engaged with digital young people. The event was hosted by the Institute for Information & Communications Technology Planning & Evaluation (IITP).

About 300 outstanding digital young people attended, selected from talent development support programmes including AI Graduate Schools, AI Semiconductor Graduate Schools, University ICT Research Centers, Software-Centered Universities, SW Maestro and the Innovation Academy.

The ministry arranged the event as a forum for dialogue to help young people respond to a rapidly changing AI and digital technology environment and plan their future careers.

Held under the theme “Questioning Era! Let’s AI! Make your question, Find your answer!”, the talk concert highlighted that a key competitive advantage in the AI era lies not in simple technical proficiency but in people who define problems and seek new answers.

The programme also included a discussion on a new paradigm shift in universities in the AI era, stories of challenges and growth in global startups, and an expert panel talk. Participants received a “Future AI Leader” commemorative badge to encourage their growth as core AI talent.

Second Vice Minister Ryu Je-myeong said the key to South Korea’s rise as one of the world’s top 3 AI powers was nurturing core AI talent. He said the ministry plans to strengthen a full-cycle AI talent development ecosystem, from undergraduate education to master’s and doctoral programmes and through to research and entrepreneurship, so that digital young people can grow in a stable manner.