An Educational Program for Korean High School Students to Develop the Next Generation of Science and Technology Talent
Analytical science is used in many ways to support our daily lives. Developing the next generation of science and technology talent is essential to passing technology on to the future. However, high school students preparing to choose their future careers have relatively few opportunities to use analytical instruments or visit research facilities. In Korea, Shimadzu Scientific Korea (SSK) runs Future-Ready Innovators, an educational program for high school students aimed at developing the next generation of science and technology talent.
Quality Education can Change the Future
Future-Ready Innovators is an initiative led by 11 members of the SSK’s Technical Research Center. Their regular responsibilities include contract analysis, instrument demonstrations, analytical method development, and user training. They also share information about how analytical science contributes to industry and helps address societal challenges.
Members of the SSK’s Technical Research Center.. Lee is in the center of the front row. Together with SSK's original characters, Peri & Tube
The program was launched after Minhye Lee of the center began considering how SSK could contribute to creating a more sustainable society.
As a company specializing in analytical science, we recognized the importance of educating the next generation as part of our contribution to a sustainable society. Based on the idea that high-quality education can change the future, in line with SDG 4, I wanted students to experience analytical technologies and instruments that are rarely accessible in ordinary high schools and learn how these technologies are used in industry and to address societal challenges.
An Opportunity to Develop an Interest in Analytical Science
Lee then began selecting themes, developing educational contents, and planning experiments and facility tours. In particular, she focused on presenting specialized analytical technologies and instrument principles in a way that would be easy for high school students to understand and encourage their interest in science and technology.
To make analytical science more accessible to high school students, the program focuses less on theory and instead introduces real-world applications of analysis in areas such as environmental issues, food safety, and biotechnology. The program also introduces careers involving analytical science, helping students consider possible future career paths.
The program also makes use of SSK's Innovation Campus, a technology hub opened in March 2026 to help SSK customers address their technical challenges. At the Innovation Campus, students tour the laboratories and learn the principles of analysis using actual liquid chromatograph mass spectrometer (LC-MS) and gas chromatograph mass spectrometer (GC-MS) systems. They also conduct hands-on analysis of plastic components in everyday products using a Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometer (FTIR).
Students learn the principles of analytical instruments in front of the actual systems
To explain the principles of liquid chromatography (LC), students conducted a chromatography (separation) experiment using ink from water-based markers. The students were fascinated as the originally single-colored ink separated into a gradient, and they actively asked why this phenomenon occurs. At the end of the program, some participants asked questions such as, “I’d like to work somewhere like this” and “What should I study at university to pursue this kind of career?” This suggested that their interest in analytical science could influence their future career choices.
Lee and the SSK team held the Future-Ready Innovators program seven times over one year, providing learning opportunities to 104 students. Future-Ready Innovators was accredited by Korea’s Ministry of Education as an organization recognized for educational partner for career exploration programs, in recognition of its provision of opportunities for future science and technology talent to experience basic science, among other merits. Participating schools have already expressed a desire for the program to continue.
Logo for accreditation as an organization for educational partner for career exploration programs
Feedback from teachers. The program received five stars for both satisfaction and safety, with teachers commenting that “the students had a good experience”
Comment from SSK’s Lee
Going forward, I hope we can develop this project from a one-time experience into an ongoing educational program that helps students gain a better understanding of analytical science and consider how it relates to their future career choices.
In particular, I believe our new SSK Innovation Campus can serve as a learning environment where students can experience actual analytical instruments, and science and technology grounded in real-world applications. It will also serve as a hub connecting research, validation, and education across a range of industries, including semiconductors, batteries, and biotechnology.Through Future-Ready Innovators at the SSK Innovation Campus, we will continue to foster collaboration between school education and industry, helping more students discover how science and technology can be used to address societal challenges.
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