Hana launches 'Hana Digital Power On' talent-fostering project

Hana, along with the Financial Supervisory Service, Google, Amazon Web Services and Microsoft kicked off the third "Hana Digital Power On" to foster young talent in the digital realm.

Attendees pose for a photo at Hana Financial Group's ″Hana Digital Power On″ launch ceremony held at the group’s headquarters in Jung District, central Seoul, on Monday, including Hana Financial Group Chairman Ham Young-joo, third from right; British Ambassador to Korea Colin Crooks, second from left,; and FSS Governor Lee Bok-hyun, third from left. [HANA FINANCIAL GROUP]

Hana Financial Group kicked off its third “Hana Digital Power On,” a project to nurture talent in the digital realm, on Monday in collaboration with Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service (FSS).

To celebrate the commencement, the group held a ceremony at its headquarters in Jung District, central Seoul, bringing together Hana Financial Group Chairman Ham Young-joo, FSS Gov. Lee Bok-hyun and British Ambassador to Korea Colin Crooks. Also present were 78 participants in 20 teams who passed the project’s first screening process.

The project is designed to foster digital talent in the younger generation with the aim of meeting the rapidly increasing demand for digital competency in all fields of society. It is sponsored by SK Telecom, Google, Amazon Web Services and Microsoft.

The top three teams of “Hana Digital Power On” will be given opportunities to visit fintech companies, startup training institutions and global financial firms in Britain for education, while multiple teams will be awarded 30 million won ($21,700) in prize money.

Eight of the participants of the first and second editions of the “Digital Power On” project have joined Hana Financial Group along with many others currently working in the field, according to the company.

A separate technology contest themed on the convergence of finance and digital fields was also held after the ceremony, where participants discovered and presented solutions using ABCD (AI, blockchain, cloud, data) to solve relevant problems.

BY CHO YONG-JUN [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]