Samsung SDI has agreed to support the establishment of a new academic department within the Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU), called Department of Battery Engineering, with the aim of nurturing engineering skills for its battery business.

The two organisations signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) at an event held at the SKKU main campus in Seoul attended by SKKU president Ji-beom Yoo; the head of SKKU’s Department of Battery Engineering Professor Won-Sub Yoon; Samsung SDI CEO Yoon-ho Choi; and head of Samsung SDI’s R&D operations Yoon-chang Kim.

The Department of Battery Engineering, within the university’s College of Engineering, will run a four-year undergraduate programme starting in March 2026, with the aim of nurturing future R&D personnel with battery engineering expertise to help strengthen the company’s EV operations and for other strategic industries.

Graduates from this degree course will be offered jobs at Samsung SDI.

Yoon-ho Choi said in a statement: “Securing and nurturing top talent is Samsung SDI’s future competitiveness. We aim to secure a pool of key talent that will lead the battery market, thereby bolstering our ‘super-gap’ technological competitiveness as a global top-tier company."

Samsung SDI already collaborates with other domestic educational institutions including Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Seoul National University, Hanyang University and Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), to develop future skilled personnel for its battery development and production operations.