Hyundai Motor President and CEO Chang Jae-hoon gives a welcoming address during "Hyundai Vision Conference 2022" at Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas hotel in southern Seoul, Wednesday. The Korean automaker said Friday the conference took place for two days through Thursday as a part of a broader strategy to recruit talents for future growth engines. Courtesy of Hyundai Motor
Korea's top automaker pushes to hire engineering talents in overseas
By Yi Whan-woo
Hyundai Motor invited Ph. D. students at engineering schools abroad to Korea for the first time, as a part of a broader strategy to recruit highly-skilled workers to develop future growth engines, the company said Friday.
The nation's No. 1 automaker said the students from top-ranked universities in North Americas and Europe came to Seoul to attend "Hyundai Vision Conference" from Wednesday to Thursday.
The students came from 12 countries around the world, majoring in automotive engineering, advanced air mobility, artificial intelligence, robotics, eco-friendly cars _ all areas of Hyundai Motor's interests.
The Korean firm carefully selected the participants after visiting their respective schools, where it held briefings and career consulting services to find out if their planned career paths are in line with the automaker's vision.
Held at Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas hotel in southern Seoul, the conference was joined by 100 executives and working-level managers from Hyundai Motor.
Hyundai Motor President Shin Jai-won, who leads the firm's advanced air mobility division, speaks during "Hyundai Vision Conference 2022" at Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas hotel in southern Seoul, Wednesday. Courtesy of Hyundai Motor
Among them were President and CEO Chang Jae-hoon and President Shin Jai-won who heads the advanced air mobility division at the carmaker.
The conference began with welcoming speeches from Chang and Shin.
Presentations and Q&A sessions followed to let Hyundai Motor engineers and invited students to share their achievements in a range of projects such as R&D.
Hyundai Motor assessed the conference took place at a time when "having dibs on promising talents is becoming extremely important" to cope with a rapidly-changing mobility market
"We will continue to be active in recruiting global engineering talents by bolstering promotional campaigns for our vision and technologies," the company said.
A Ph. D. engineering student from an overseas university asks a question during "Hyundai Vision Conference 2022" at Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas hotel in southern Seoul, Wednesday. Courtesy of Hyundai Motor
A Ph. D. student from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States, Brady Hammond, thanked Hyundai Motor for offering an opportunity where excellent students worldwide can get together and communicate with Hyundai Motor workers concerning future mobility.
Meanwhile, the participants also visited the automaker's R&D lab in Namyang, Gyeonggi Province on Thursday.
They were introduced to concept cars, which are experimental models to showcase technology and design, as well as virtual technology for a glimpse into hydrogen-fueled trucks and the history of various Hyundai Motor brands.
On Friday, those who volunteered toured the carmaker's robotics lab in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province.
A flagship affiliate of Hyundai Motor Group, Hyundai Motor has a vision to "provide freedom of movement to everyone by investing in mobility services, by building close relationships with leading mobility service providers and expanding our role beyond the automotive transportation sector."
