Hyundai Mobis said it held the “2026 Youth Engineering Leader Festival” at Hana High School in Seoul, bringing together about 100 students from 12 high schools nationwide to compete in engineering debate, autonomous-vehicle racing and academic research, Digital Chosun Ilbo reported.
The company announced the event on the 9th, saying it took place two days earlier, on the 7th, to share the results of its school-approved “Youth Engineering Leader” curriculum and evaluate students’ engineering skills.
Two Incheon Schools Win Driving Titles
The autonomous-vehicle competition, which has run since 2018, split into two divisions this year: a deep-learning-based category and a physical AI category built on the ROS2 robot operating system. Students loaded their own driving algorithms into model cars that had to recognize lanes and traffic signals and avoid obstacles.
Judges scored course departures, obstacle collisions and finish times. Incheon Samsan High School won the deep-learning division, and Incheon Songdo High School took the ROS2 division, according to Hyundai Mobis.
Debate and Research Round Out Program
In the engineering debate, students who completed the high-school credit course “Engineering Communication” argued current issues in engineering and technology, with judges weighing their analysis of opponents’ logic and their own communication skills. The youth engineering academic conference featured student research on artificial intelligence, autonomous driving, sensor technology and optimization algorithms, including this year a study examining future mobility from a humanities and social-science perspective.
Curriculum Expands to 14 High Schools
The festival reflects a curriculum Hyundai Mobis has built since 2024, when it published “Engineering Communication,” which the company described as the industry’s first regular high-school credit textbook, and added the “AI Autonomous Vehicle Exploration” course last year. Fourteen general high schools now teach the program, reaching roughly 1,800 students who study autonomous driving, robotics and other future-mobility fundamentals, the company said.
Mobis Pledges Wider Support for Talent
Han Seong-hee, head of Hyundai Mobis’ sustainable management office, said the Youth Engineering Leader program is designed so students can apply engineering knowledge learned in school to solve problems and develop it into voluntary research. “We will expand support to nurture creative engineering talent who will lead the future mobility industry,” Han said.
Questions Readers Ask About the Festival
How many students nationwide take Hyundai Mobis’ engineering curriculum? About 1,800 students across 14 general high schools currently study autonomous driving and robotics through the program, according to the company.
Which schools won the 2026 autonomous-vehicle competition? Incheon Samsan High School won the deep-learning division, and Incheon Songdo High School won the ROS2 physical AI division, Hyundai Mobis reported.
How long has the student driving competition run? The autonomous-vehicle race has been held annually since 2018, the company reported.
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