[Edaily Reporter JAEMIN SONG ] Samsung is accelerating its efforts to cultivate “AI-native” talent by significantly restructuring the curriculum of its youth software training program, the “Samsung Youth SW·AI Academy (SSAFY),” to focus on artificial intelligence (AI). The strategy involves expanding the proportion of AI education to 60% of the total curriculum and strengthening hands-on projects in collaboration with companies to train AI developers who can be immediately deployed in the industry.

SamsungElectronics announced on the 30th that it held the graduation ceremony for the 14th cohort at the SSAFY Seoul Campus in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. The event was attended by approximately 100 people, including Kwon Chang-jun, Vice Minister of Employment and Labor; Ryu Seok-young, Professor of Computer Science at KAIST; Park Seung-hee, President of Corporate Relations at SamsungElectronics; as well as graduates and their families. Graduates from campuses in Daejeon, Gwangju, Gumi, and the Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam region also participated online.

Launched in 2018, SSAFY has produced over 11,000 graduates to date. As of the 13th cohort, 9,396 graduates have secured employment, bringing the cumulative employment rate to 85%. Including those from the 14th cohort who secured employment early, the cumulative number of employed graduates is approaching 10,000.

Starting this year, Samsung has significantly revamped the curriculum to focus on AI. Of the 1,725 annual training hours, 1,025 hours—approximately 60%—are allocated to AI education and hands-on training. The company has also strengthened its educational infrastructure to ensure that all trainees can gain experience in generative AI and AI model development within a graphics processing unit (GPU)-based AI development environment.

The training environment has also been elevated to an enterprise-level standard. The company set up AI GPU servers and provided all trainees with AI development PCs equipped with GPUs. Additionally, generative AI tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude were incorporated into the curriculum, allowing trainees to train and experiment with AI models under conditions similar to those in actual corporate development environments.

AI capabilities are being validated through various projects. Trainees form teams with peers who share similar interests to plan and develop services on their own. This year, the program expanded its projects into the field of physical AI, showcasing an AI security robot that combines visual information, language understanding, and behavioral control, as well as an AI-based quadruped rescue robot designed to navigate disaster sites.

Collaboration with external organizations is also on the rise. Samsung co-hosted an AI hackathon with Kakao to carry out AI projects for public welfare and ran an AI fintech idea contest with Woori Bank. Additionally, it is training AI developers specializing in finance in partnership with the five major banks—Shinhan, KB Financial Group, Hana, Woori, and NH Nonghyup. To date, approximately 840 SSAFY graduates have secured employment in the banking sector.

In his congratulatory remarks that day, Vice Minister Kwon Chang-jun stated, “At a time when the world is engaged in fierce competition over AI, it is ultimately people who will determine the outcome of that competition,” adding, “The government, including the Ministry of Employment and Labor, will join forces with companies to further expand opportunities that support young people’s challenges—such as K-Digital Training, the K-New Deal Academy, and the Future Tomorrow Work Experience program.”

President Park Seung-hee remarked, “AI is no longer a technology of the future—it is already changing the way we work. You are the key players who will drive that change.” She added, “Do not fear the future; keep taking on challenges and embrace failure. That process will ultimately serve as the foundation for your success.”