[Provided by Gyeongil University]
[Provided by Gyeongil University]

Gyeongil University's University Jobs Plus Center hosted a special lecture Thursday at a seminar room in Building 5 on campus, inviting Lee Jae-hoon, chief executive of Ecopro Partners, to speak to about 100 enrolled students.

The lecture, titled "Sustainability Strategies for Universities in the AI Era," covered how the spread of AI is reshaping the industrial landscape, the core competencies future talent will need, and corporate strategies for technological innovation and growth.

Lee previously served as a professor at Yeungnam University's College of Business Administration and as director of the North Gyeongsang Technopark. Lee now leads Ecopro Partners, the corporate venture capital arm of Ecopro Group.

During the lecture, Lee outlined the rapidly shifting business environment driven by climate change, the energy transition and advances in AI, and stressed the importance of building an industrial ecosystem through collaboration among companies, universities and research institutions.

Lee drew on domestic and international corporate cases — including Corning, Han Jung N.C.S. and PIM Korea — to illustrate strategies for expanding into new industrial sectors on the strength of core proprietary technologies. Lee also discussed the technological competitiveness, market viability and entrepreneurial spirit that companies weigh most heavily in investment decisions, drawing on Ecopro Partners' own investment portfolio.

Lee advised students that understanding AI technology and industrial settings, and collaborating with specialists across diverse fields, would be a key competitive advantage for future talent. Students followed the lecture with a question-and-answer session covering AI, future industries, technology startups and employment.

Kim Ho-kwon, director of the University Jobs Plus Center, said the lecture gave students an opportunity to understand changes in the industrial environment and reflect on their future career paths. "We will continue to invite experts from a wide range of fields to support students in exploring career options and strengthening their employability," Kim said.


kbj7653@heraldcorp.com