Participants of Jeonbuk National University and Korea International Cooperation Agency’s “Innovation Entrepreneurship Education Capacity-Building Project” pose for a photo at Servicio Nacional de Aprendizaje in Bogota, Colombia, Feb. 19. Courtesy of Jeonbuk National University
Jeonbuk National University said it successfully completed a preparatory mentoring program to recruit trainers for an international entrepreneurship education project in Colombia.
The program was jointly promoted with the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) to initiate a long-term innovation-based startup education in the capital of Bogota.
According to a Jeonbuk National University official on Monday, the university held an eight-day Training of Trainers (ToT) program in Colombia starting Feb. 10 as part of the “Innovation Entrepreneurship Education Capacity-Building Project” for the Latin American country’s vocational training institution Servicio Nacional de Aprendizaje (SENA).
The project aims to establish a technology-driven startup ecosystem in the capital city between 2025 and 2028. The ToT program serves as the project’s first major step toward implementing the initiative.
About 80 participants attended the training, including SENA entrepreneurship instructors, field mentors, startup support staff and facility managers. The university said the participation of both educators and operational staff allowed the program to build an integrated entrepreneurship education framework linking instruction, mentoring and facility management.
Field experts from Jeonbuk National University and industry delivered lectures on various project topics, including designing technology-based entrepreneurship educational programming, operating team project-based classes and developing startup strategies using artificial intelligence.
Jeonbuk National University plans to operate a comprehensive startup education process covering team building, minimum viable product development, business planning and investor pitching under the project.
The initiative will also form joint Korean-Colombian project teams composed of selected SENA startup groups and KOICA volunteers. The teams will focus on strategic sectors such as information and communications technology, food processing, tourism, and clothing and fashion, aiming to generate tangible startup outcomes.
“The trainer education program is expected to significantly enhance SENA’s capacity to implement entrepreneurship education locally,” said Moon Kyung-yeon, director of the Institute for International Development Cooperation at Jeonbuk National University.
“This program will serve as a foundation for creating successful startup cases in the field and contribute to revitalizing the youth startup ecosystem in Colombia.”
The university said it plans to expand technology-based entrepreneurship education partnerships across Latin America, using the Colombia project as a foothold to strengthen its role as a leading institution in global startup education and international development cooperation.
