LG recently hosted the “LG Aimers Hackathon,” a two-day event aimed at fostering youth talent in artificial intelligence (AI) at the LG Inhwawon training center in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province. Drawn from a pool of 2,339 applicants, 94 participants competed to develop optimized versions of the company’s EXAONE large language model, reflecting LG’s commitment to advancing AI technologies. This initiative is part of LG Aimers, the group’s flagship program that seeks to cultivate AI talent among young individuals in Korea.
Since its inception in the latter half of 2022, LG Aimers has trained over 20,000 young people, positioning itself as the largest youth AI education effort in South Korea. The company’s aspiration is to train a cumulative total of at least 50,000 young AI professionals by 2030, underlining the growing demand for skilled workers in the rapidly evolving tech landscape.
The participants engaged in developing lightweight versions of EXAONE, a large language model created by LG AI Research. Lightweighting is a critical optimization technique that reduces model size and enhances inference speed while maintaining performance and accuracy. This technology is essential for deploying AI models on individual devices like laptops and smartphones, making advanced AI capabilities more accessible.
During the hackathon, the participants successfully created 27 lightweight EXAONE models. LG plans to publish those that meet performance standards on Hugging Face, a prominent global open-source AI platform, enabling developers worldwide to leverage these models for various applications.
To incentivize innovation, LG awarded a total of 10 million won in prize money to the top three teams, evaluated based on model performance, code quality, and oral presentations. The grand prize, known as the Minister of Employment and Labor Award, was bestowed upon Park Seo-hui, Jo Ha-yeong, and Son Min-ju, recognizing their outstanding contributions during the competition.
On the second day of the event, eight major LG affiliates participated in a recruitment fair aimed at providing career opportunities for the young talent. Companies such as LG AI Research, LG Electronics, LG Display, LG Innotek, LG Energy Solution, LG H&H, LG U+, and LG CNS offered career counseling, priority registration for LG’s AI talent pool, one-on-one consultations with recruitment specialists, and mock AI interview sessions. All program offerings, from graduate-level AI coursework to recruitment support, were provided at no cost to participants.
LG Aimers is open to applicants aged 19 to 29 who possess foundational AI knowledge and coding skills, with sessions occurring twice yearly during summer and winter breaks. This ongoing commitment to youth education in AI highlights LG’s strategic focus on cultivating a skilled workforce capable of navigating the complexities of modern technology.
The LG Aimers Hackathon signifies not just a company initiative but a broader movement toward nurturing the next generation of AI professionals in South Korea. As the demand for AI expertise continues to grow, programs like LG Aimers are crucial in preparing individuals to meet the challenges of an increasingly digital and automated world.
