Esteemed and beloved members of the KAIST Family,
The year, 2024, the year of the Blue Dragon, has dawned upon us. I hope you will all receive many blessings in the new year.
Last year, despite the rapid changes taking place at home and abroad and the uncertainty of the future, KAIST did not pause in its quest to take on new challenges, overcome failures, and create innovation. I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to all KAISTians for their hard work and dedication to help realize our dream of becoming a world-class university.
In 2023, KAIST continued to sail smoothly on its journey toward the goal of joining the ranks of the World’s Top 10 Universities by promoting the QAIST New Cultural Strategy. Let's briefly review some of the achievements made through QAIST initiatives.
First, we encouraged the curiosity of our students by holding various events such as KAIST Q-Day, the Color Your Year Project, and Reading Golden Bell to help them grow into talented individuals with big aspirations.
Second, we continued to provide opportunities for sharing and discussing seemingly absurd or brilliant ideas. “2023 KAIST Failure Week” was also held for the first time to encourage flexible thinking and a challenging spirit without a fear of failure.
By completing the KAIST Meta convergence building, we expanded our research infrastructure to help creativity thrive. In 2024, more spaces are scheduled to open, including the KAIST Art Museum, the Krafton building, and new dormitories.
Third, through the KAIST-NYU Joint Campus, we are operating nine research centers and the ʻKAIST-NYU Study Away Program' to put a spur on active education and exciting new research activities.
Fourth, under the vision of 『1 Lab, 1 Startup』, we are striving to boost startup performance and raise the value of innovative companies through continuous system improvement and program support.
Lastly, in 2023, the warm support and interest toward KAIST continued through generous donations. Also, with the lifting of the designation of “other public institution”, we can hire outstanding researchers and students from around the world more freely.
Dear Esteemed KAIST Family,
The year 2024 will be the year in which our dreams become clearer. We do expect many challenges to come from increasing global uncertainties and restructuring of R&D budgets, but we will vigorously continue our journey with the mindset “if you believe it, you can achieve it.”
First, we will strive to spread an innovative campus culture. We will also make the campus “an exciting playground” by improving student amenities.
We will expand the scope of our innovative campus by establishing a graduate school of medical engineering to train physician-scientists. In addition, we will strive to expand spaces for innovative education and research through the establishment of the Pyeongtaek Campus.
Second, we will continue to encourage “first-ever research” and make more efforts to study 12 major national strategic technologies including semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and advanced bio technology. In order to create a better research environment, we will undertake new construction projects to expand the research infrastructure.
Third, we will strengthen collaborative research and educational partnerships through the KAIST-NYU Joint Campus.
Fourth, we will expand our efforts to actively promote a startup culture to achieve the goal of 100 start-ups per year.
Finally, we will do our best to ensure that KAIST is a trusted name and contributes to a culture of sharing. Through our ongoing fundraising activities, we will improve the education and research infrastructure to advance as a globally acclaimed university.In the new year of 2024, KAIST will continue working with you to embrace challenges and drive innovation. We will get even closer to our dream of joining the ranks of the world’s top ten universities. We ask for your continued interest and support to help make this possible.
Also, with this message, I send our wishes for our dear members of the KAIST to thrive in health and happiness.
Thank you very much.
January 1st, 2024
KAIST President
Kwang Hyung Lee