Kakao expands regional AI talent program, develops agentic AI with 5 national universities

Kakao said on the 4th that it has revamped this year’s regional AI talent development program, "Kakao Tech Campus," around agentic AI. Launched in 2023, "Kakao Tech Campus" is an ESG program aimed at narrowing the technology education gap outside the Seoul metropolitan area and nurturing local talent.

Under the overhaul, Kakao has shifted the direction of technical training for local college students to focus on agentic AI. This year’s curriculum revision replaces the existing web and app development-centered program with a course on planning and developing agentic AI services. Agentic AI refers to AI with the ability to make decisions and carry out tasks on its own.

Kakao will hold a "Kakao Tech Campus" ideathon accordingly and work with students from 5 regional flagship national universities across the country to develop agentic AI services. The training runs from May to November, and Kakao will support hands-on experience in service planning, development, and deployment.

The training will proceed in 3 stages. The first stage is the AI service development basics "Pre-Course," the second is an agentic AI hands-on project, and the third is a process in which participants define problems themselves and carry out service planning, development, and deployment projects.

The Kakao Tech Campus ideathon was held from the 22nd to the 23rd. The event was organized as a process to flesh out services ahead of the second-stage project, and 145 students from Kangwon National University, Kyungpook National University, Pusan National University, Chonnam National University, and Chungnam National University took part.

The participating students selected social issues and designed agentic AI-based solutions to address them, while also working on core function design. The event also strengthened connections with working professionals.

Mentors included Kakao CTO Song Jae-ha, along with 11 employees in service planning and development who reviewed the originality of the ideas and their practical feasibility. The grand prize went to the Chonnam National University team’s "Customized Developer Mock Interview AI." The service can analyze an applicant’s code and generate follow-up interview questions to help with developer interview preparation.

Excellence awards went to Kangwon National University’s "Small Business Closure Procedure Guide Agent," Kyungpook National University’s "AI Career Organization Agent," Pusan National University’s "AI for Personalized Childcare Decisions," and Pusan National University’s "AI for Reviewing Expenses for Comprehensive Income Tax for Sole Proprietors."

The participating students are expected to directly develop and deploy agentic AI services based on the ideathon’s refined concepts, with the development and deployment period lasting about 3 months. During this process, Kakao will continue mentorship from industry experts and provide development support, with each university’s final presentation scheduled for mid-November.

Seo Eun-hee, leader of Kakao’s technology talent development team, said industry demand for the ability to directly plan and implement agentic AI services is expanding rapidly, while educational opportunities to systematically gain such experience remain limited. She added that Kakao plans to swiftly reflect changes and demand from the industry in its training programs and strengthen support for local students to grow into technical talent with practical skills.

Source: TECHWORLD · Kim Seung-gi
Original: https://www.epnc.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=406543

References

• https://www.epnc.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=406543