HD Hyundai signed an MOU with SNU and MSU to foster talent in the U.S. shipbuilding industry

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By Im Sung-ho at the Yonhap News Agency

▲ From left, U.S. Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro; Shin Hyung-Kye, technical advisor, HD Korea Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering; Steve Brock, special assistant to the secretary of the Navy; and Jonathan Page, professor of shipbuilding and ocean engineering at the University of Michigan.

HD Hyundai, an intermediate holding company in the shipbuilding sector, and HD Hankook Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Seoul National University and the University of Michigan, U.S.A., for educational cooperation to foster talent in the U.S.-Korea shipbuilding industry.

The MOU ceremony, held at Macomb Community College in Michigan, U.S., on Nov. 22 (local time), was attended by U.S. Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, and the technical advisory department of HD Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Shin Hyung-gye.

Under the agreement, HD Hyundai and Seoul National University will explore ways to collaborate with the University of Michigan, including joint research, education, and internship programs.

The University of Michigan, which was founded in 1817, was ranked third in the U.S. News & World Report's U.S. public university rankings this year and is considered world-class in engineering and business administration, HD Hyundai said.

Following this collaboration, HD Hyundai and Seoul National University are considering expanding the collaboration to other universities in the U.S., including Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Virginia Tech.

The agreement follows a visit by Secretary of State Carlos del Toro to HD Hyundai's Ulsan headquarters in February, where he saw firsthand HD Hyundai's shipbuilding capabilities and requested the collaboration.

"Producing the talented shipbuilding engineers our nation needs requires collaboration with world-class faculty as well as innovation in ship design education," said Secretary Carlos del Toro. "We are pleased to offer U.S. engineers the valuable opportunity to learn first-hand at a world-class HD Hyundai shipyard.“

"The U.S.-Korea educational cooperation in shipbuilding will not only strengthen the competitiveness of the U.S. shipbuilding industry, but will also have a positive effect on future bilateral business cooperation, such as the maintenance and repair (MRO) of U.S. ships," said Shin Hyung-gye, Technical Advisor of HD Hankook Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering. "We will strive to play a pivotal role in the development of the shipbuilding industry between the two countries based on our technology and experience."

* Source : https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20240723056900003?input=1195m