Kookmin University, representing the Korean University Consortium (KUC), signed an agreement for a ‘Future Automotive Talent Development Program’ with Germany’s Niedersachsen Automotive Research Center (NFF) and Institute of Automotive Engineering (IAE) under Technische Universität Braunschweig, as well as the Volkswagen Group Woori Foundation. The agreement aims to expand industry-academia cooperation globally and foster practical talent for the future mobility technology market. Kookmin University, whose consortium includes Ajou University, Inha University, and Chungbuk National University, will oversee educational and research cooperation, manage student selection, develop customized curricula in Korea, and expand industry-university programs. The program will run for three years from next year until 2029. Each year, selected outstanding undergraduates from the KUC will be dispatched to IAE and NFF research sites in Germany, working with researchers for about 12 months on autonomous driving, automotive artificial intelligence, and automotive software. KUC will also jointly develop educational modules on embedded systems, autonomous driving systems, automotive AI, and automotive cybersecurity, linking them to existing courses and capstone design projects, and combine extracurricular programs such as hackathons, student clubs, and alumni mentoring.