- Opens free mobile expert program at Creative Economy Innovation Center in Daejeon
- To play the role of nurturing creative talents in the Daejeon region and revitalize SK Group’s Creative Economy Innovation Center
- Plans to operate short-term and expert program provided by experts from inside and outside the organization

Seoul, Korea, February 23, 2015— SK Group has opened T Academy’s new campus at Creative Economy Innovation Center in Daejeon.

T Academy is a training program aimed at nurturing ICT developers, provided by the Open Innovation Center (http://oic.skplanet.com) founded in 2010 to establish a mutually-rewarding ICT ecosystem. Its program offerings include developer-focused courses and app commercialization support.

T Academy has been at the forefront of nurturing mobile experts and supporting startup success. Between 2010 and 2014, 
T Academy has trained a combined total of 85,000 graduates and completed commercialization of 149 applications. Among expert course graduates, 78.6% found employment and 54 started their own business.

T Academy established at the Creative Economy Innovation Center in Daejeon offers diverse courses covering planning, design, development, and startup on the last week of each month. Apart from these regular courses, a nine-week expert course that is comprised of three elements — server expert, android expert, and design expert — is held during the vacation season.

In coincidence with the opening of the Daejeon campus, Kim Ji-hyun, Head of Commerce Strategy Office of SK Planet delivered a lecture under the theme of ‘O2O (Online to Offline) Business Opportunities in the New IOT Paradigm’. Along with the lecture, special training courses covering startup and development are scheduled to be held from 24th to 27th.

T Academy Daejeon campus will provide a strong foundation for startup ecosystem by nurturing ICT experts in the region. Jeon Jung-hui, Head of Business Support Office of SK Planet emphasized, “We will fully leverage our expertise in ICT education to incubate venture firms in the Daejeon region and promote the Creative Economy.”
Since the launch of Daejeon Creative Economy Innovation Center in October last year, SK has focused on fostering start-up ecosystem through ICT education.

As of the end of January, Design Thinking Program aimed at turning creative and innovative ideas into business model was offered to 138 participants. As most of the college professors and students in the Daejeon region completed the course, the program established itself as an essential course for the best brains in the region. In addition, courses designed to help developers build test products such as 3D printing were offered to 464 participants.

Lee Jae-ho, Head of the SK Creative Economy Innovation Center (CEI) emphasized, “We will continue to offer in-depth education program in a wide range of topics and act as a catalyst for the creation and development of startups in Korea.”