Enterprise Organization of National Program of Excellence in Software

Sungkyunkwan University: The Undisputed Leader in SW and AI
RISE Team Wins Grand Prize at 2024 SW Talent Festival

- A continuation of success following the AI category win at the 2024 Digital Competition.

- Commitment to promoting SW and AI values, advancing the digital economy, and supporting regional industries.

□ Sungkyunkwan University (President Yoo Ji-bum) announced on the 6th that its AI model ChartBrain.AI, designed to recognize and interpret complex chart documents, won the Grand Prize (Minister of Science and ICT Award) at the 2024 SW Talent Festival.

▲ Group Photo of Award-Winning Students and Key Stakeholders at the 2024 SW Talent Festival

□ The 2024 SW Talent Festival, hosted by the Ministry of Science and ICT and organized by the Institute for Information & Communications Technology Planning and Evaluation (IITP) and the SW-centered University Council, was held over two days on November 5 and 6. The event brought together 58 universities participating in the SW-centered University Project to showcase outstanding achievements and share best practices.

□ Themed "An AI World Connected by SW", the festival emphasized the importance of SW talent development and the value of SW education. It featured various exhibition booths, including the SW-Centered University Pavilion, SW Industry Pavilion, SW Experience Pavilion, SW-Centered University Information Booth, TOPCIT Information Booth, and SW Academy Project Booth.

□ The event included △SA special lecture by Kang Jeong-su, Head of Bluedot AI Center △A keynote speech by Professor Kim Jang-hyun of Sungkyunkwan University △VIP exhibition tours △An opening ceremony △An awards ceremony △A results presentation.

□ Professor Kim Jang-hyun (Dean of the college of computing and informatics) delivered a compelling keynote speech titled “Surviving in the AI Era: Humanity Must Evolve.” He discussed survival strategies in the new epoch of the Anthropocene, the necessity and success of foundational SW-AI education at Sungkyunkwan University over the past decade, and transformative efforts in data science education. His insights garnered great attention and empathy from the audience.

▲ Professor Kim Jang-hyun (center) delivering the keynote “In the AI Era, Humans Must Evolve” with SW department ambassadors

□ At the opening ceremony, Min-gu Kang, a student from the AI Convergence major and a member of the SKKUAI team, showcased Sungkyunkwan University's exceptional talent. Kang won the Grand Prize (Minister of Science and ICT Award) in the AI Meets SW category of the Digital Competition in August 2024, solidifying Sungkyunkwan University’s position as a leader in SW and AI.

▲ Min-gu Kang (far left), a participant in the opening ceremony of the SW Talent Festival

□ At the university's booth, members of the RISE Team (led by Jeong Gi-yong from the Department of Software, with team members Lee Sang-yeop, Lee Gyu-min, Lee Sang-jun, and Jeong Hee-seong) demonstrated their OCR-free Chart Understanding Deep Learning Model and the creation of a 1-million-record Korean chart dataset for document comprehension. Their efforts were met with resounding applause.

□ Jeong Hee-seong from team RISE shared, “Overcoming challenges during this project allowed us to build essential IT skills. Participating in the SW Talent Festival and seeing outstanding projects from other universities broadened our perspective and provided inspiration. We hope our dataset and model contribute significantly to future research in chart recognition.”

▲ 2nd Vice Minister Kang Do-hyun (left) of the Ministry of Science and ICT listening to the explanation of the grand prize-winning project at the Sungkyunkwan University booth, alongside IITP President Hong Jin-bae (right), reviewing the expected impacts in detail

□ Lee Eun-seok (Dean of the College of Computing and Informatics) stated, “Through the SW-Centered University Project, we have continuously supported digital innovation at our university by building a cutting-edge Soft:Com infrastructure, funding research and development, and refining systems to benefit not only students from the Department of Software, Global Convergence Division, and Intelligent Software Department but also the entire student body. I am delighted that our students have achieved such exceptional results in the 2024 Digital Competition and SW Talent Festival, further demonstrating their talent in the SW-AI field. Moving forward, we will continue to foster innovation in SW-AI education and extend its impact across universities and communities.”

* (Soft:Com refers to the Software Complex, a state-of-the-art digital innovation hub located on the 2nd floor of the Samsung Library, encompassing the Natural Sciences and Humanities campuses of Sungkyunkwan University.)

▲ Director Lee Eun-seok providing guidance to students on future development directions for the awarded project’s RMS and related aspects

□ Since being selected for the first phase of the SW-Centered University Project in 2015 and reselected for the second phase in 2021 (until 2026), Sungkyunkwan University has actively fostered talent in cutting-edge fields such as AI, big data, and cloud computing. Through collaborative projects connecting regions, industries, research institutes, and universities, the institution continues to play a central role in advancing the digital economy and regional industries.

▲ SKKU National Center of Excellence in SW