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Educating for Sustainability: KAIST's Graduate Schools of EEWS and Green Growth
At the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Annual Meeting (Davos Forum) January 17-20, 2017 in Davos, Switzerland, the International Sustainable Campus Network (ISCN) and the Global University Leaders Forum (GULF) shared exemplary case studies for teaching “sustainability” on campuses, which were implemented by 30 leading universities around the world.
KAIST President Sung-Mo Kang participated in the meeting and introduced two of the university’s graduate schools and their main activities in 2016: The Graduate School of EEWS (energy, environment, water and sustainability) and The Graduate School of Green Growth.
President Kang explained that the EEWS Graduate School, created in 2009, represents KAIST’s commitment to interdisciplinary education and research, addressing key issues of today’s global challenges including energy, environment, and water for a sustainable society. The graduate school hosted its first international forum last October, “The EEWS 2016: Progress and Perspective of Energy Science and Technology.” Over 200 participants from Korea and across the world discussed and learned about recent advances, challenges, and future opportunities in energy science and technology, such as the development of sustainable energy harvesting and storage, catalytic energy conversion technology, green chemical materials, and photocatalytic systems for sustainable water treatment.
He also presented the Green Growth Graduate School as KAIST’s initiative to a build global alliance for sustainable growth. Established in 2013 in the College of Business, the graduate school provides world-class education and research on green business, finance, and policy. Among many international conferences and workshops it hosts, the school has held the Seoul Climate Energy Conference annually since 2014. Last year alone, over 400 international participants including climate and energy policy makers and scholars gathered at the conference and strengthened partnerships with the global community. The school has been an active member of international organizations that advocate for green economies and sustainable development, the Global Green Growth Institute and the United Nations Environment Programme, for example.
President Kang noted that KAIST has been at the forefront of formulating and implementing holistic and cross-disciplinary approaches to foster learning and research environments in which university members can take on global issues, which are critical to humanity and our ecosystem, and work toward a more sustainable future.
Founded in 2007, the ISCN is a non-profit association of globally-leading colleges and universities representing over 30 countries and working together to holistically integrate sustainability into campus operations, research, and teaching.
Created in 2006, the GULF is one of the WEF’s expert communities, which consists of top leaders from 26 global universities, including the University of Cambridge, Peking University, Stanford University, and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich. The GULF offers in-depth discussions and exchange of ideas on the future of higher education and the role of science in society. Since 2012, KAIST has been a member of GULF, the only university from Korea.
The ISCN and GULF have held a meeting each year at the Davos Forum since 2011 to share information, insights, and best practices for achieving sustainable campus operations and integrating sustainability into research and teaching.
To see the full report on the 2017 WEF ISCN-GULF case studies, please go to
http://www.international-sustainable-campus-network.org/downloads/general/462-educating-for-sustainability/file.
2017.01.25 View 8918 -
KAIST and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis Agree to Cooperate
KAIST signed a cooperation agreement with the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) on October 29, 2014 at the president’s office.
Established in 1972 and based in Austria as a non-governmental research organization, IIASA is an international scientific institute that conducts policy-oriented research into global problems such as climate change, energy security, or population aging. IIASA examines such issues and devises strategies for cooperative action unconstrained by political and national self-interest.
Dr. Pavel Kabat, the Director General and CEO of IIASA, headed a delegation that visited KAIST to attend the signing ceremony of the agreement. He said, “KAIST has been known as a leading research university, and its strength in the development of green technology and environmental policy will benefit our institution. In particular, we expect to see vibrant exchanges of knowledge and researchers with the Graduate School of Green Growth (GSGG) and the Graduate School of EEWS (energy, environment, water, and sustainability) at KAIST.”
The two organizations will implement joint research projects in the diffusion analysis of green technology, the development and improvement of evaluation models to integrate economy, energy, and environment, the development of an analysis system for water resources, and the establishment of academic workshops and conferences.
The Dean of GSGG, Professor Jae-Kyu Lee said, “IIASA is a well-respected international organization with accumulated knowledge about analysis and prediction techniques. With this agreement, we hope that KAIST will intensify its research capacity in environmental science and lead education and research in green growth and environmental technology.”
The picture below shows Dr. Pavel Kabat, the Director General and CEO of IIASA, on the left and President Steve Kang of KAIST on the right holding the signed agreement with professors from GSGG and EEWS Graduate School including Professor Jae-Kyu Lee, to the right of President Kang.
2014.11.05 View 9516