KoreaTech to show 95 student projects spanning AI, robotics and employment policy

The labor ministry said Wednesday that Korea University of Technology and Education will hold its 32nd graduation research exhibition on Oct. 14 and 15, displaying 95 student projects that range from disaster-response robots to employment policy research.

The exhibition takes place in the lobby of the Damheon Silhak Hall on the university's campus and runs both offline and online, with departmental panels and videos of outstanding works available remotely.

The 95 projects are drawn from four departments: 40 from mechatronics engineering, 24 from employment service policy, 23 from business administration and eight from energy and new materials chemical engineering.

Among the mechatronics entries, Lee Su-yong and four other students developed an RFID-based robot that deploys a smothering fire blanket to stop electric vehicle fires from spreading in underground parking lots. Sensors installed in parking spaces detect a fire and relay its location to the robot, which navigates autonomously, confirms the vehicle's position through RFID and spreads the blanket to shield the burning car before firefighters arrive.

Lim Jun-ha and eight other students presented a smart implant that promotes bone formation while retaining antibacterial properties. The team applied a copper-based material to the implant surface and designed the surface structure to change in an environment similar to the body.

In business administration, Park Tae-young studied a service that matches small business owners with suitable startup locations by analyzing vacant commercial space with AI, combining foot traffic, sales, rent, accessibility, hinterland population and competition data to score location suitability.

Kim Ji-yeon of the employment service policy department conducted research on an income-based system to improve the effectiveness of employment insurance for special-form workers. Noting that the existing occupation-centered system struggles to cover platform workers and other new forms of labor, Kim analyzed German and French cases and proposed a shift toward a system that reflects actual income and the working relationship.

"The graduation research work is significant in that it is a process in which students apply the major knowledge and practical skills they have built at university to problems that real industry and society face, and move toward finding solutions," university president Yoo Kil-sang said. "Korea University of Technology and Education will continue to strengthen practice-oriented education so that students can grow into talented people equipped with creative problem-solving capabilities and on-site practical skills."