Future talents invested in by Volkswagen Group Korea and the Volkswagen Group Our Foundation shine on the global stage

*This content was translated by AI.

Volkswagen Group Korea and the non-profit foundation Volkswagen Group Our Foundation have seen their multi-year efforts to cultivate future talents for the development of Korea's sustainable mobility industry and strengthening of future competitiveness bear fruit on the world stage. The university alliance team sponsored by both institutional investors achieved the remarkable feat of winning the final championship at the 'Bosch Future Mobility Challenge 2026 (BFMC 2026)', an international competition on autonomous driving and connectivity held from May 16 to 20 in Cluj-Napoca, Romania.

This competition is a global technical contest where undergraduate and master's students from around the world compete by developing algorithms using autonomous driving model cars at a 1:10 scale and demonstrating their driving skills in complex road situations. In this year's competition, which saw participation from 57 teams worldwide, the winning team was an alliance team from the Republic of Korea composed of students from Kookmin University, Inha University, and Ajou University. Students including Choi Min-hyeok (Team Lead), Kim Ki-hoon, Oh Young-gyo, Jang Dong-min, and Kang Ju-heon participated. They applied a locally developed localization algorithm to overcome situations with unstable network and GPS signals, surpassing leading universities worldwide to reach the top of the podium.

This achievement is the result of the 'SEA:ME' program, a flagship initiative of 'WE: Learn', a social contribution initiative promoting expertise development in mobility software led by Volkswagen Group Korea and the foundation. SEA:ME is an innovative educational model that cultivates talent equipped with practical skills to keep pace with the evolving mobility ecosystem, offering a master's-level curriculum specialized in coding and mobility fields.

Over the past three years, a total of 34 students were dispatched to Germany to complete their training. Graduates are now active as experts in major domestic and international automotive and mobility software industries, while the fourth cohort is currently undergoing their curriculum in Germany. Additionally, the 'SEA:ME Hackathon', an annual automotive software development competition, has been held, with over 200 university students from 11 universities and 45 teams participating up to last year to showcase their potential.

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*This content was translated by AI.