Campus/People
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KAIST and McKinsey Korea Agreed to Cultivate Management Leaders
KAIST and McKinsey Korea signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the “Joint Research on Innovative Instructional Method to Cultivate Future Management Leaders” on April 8, 2016, at the SUPEX Management Hall of KAIST Management School in Seoul.
Under the MOU, both organizations will cooperate in the following research areas: management strategies to overcome the low growth of Korean economy, instructional methods to foster leaders in the field of business and management, and innovative management systems for business.
President Kang said, “We are pleased to work with McKinsey, a worldwide management consulting firm, to foster leaders in science and business. As we see more demanding challenges of managing and leading science-based businesses today, this alliance is indeed timely and will be very helpful.”
2016.04.15 View 4871 -
KAIST, NTU, and Technion Collaborate for Research in Emerging Fields
KAIST, Nanyang Technological University (NTU) of Singapore, and Technion of Israel signed an agreement on April 11, 2016 in Seoul to create a five-year joint research program for some of the most innovative and entrepreneurial areas: robotics, medical technologies, satellites, materials science and engineering, and entrepreneurship. Under the agreement, the universities will also offer dual degree opportunities, exchange visits, and internships.
In the picture from the left, Bertil Andersson of NTU, Sung-Mo Kang of KAIST, and Peretz Lavie of Technion hold the signed memorandum of understanding.
2016.04.14 View 9522 -
KAIST Hosts the 2016 IPFGRU
More than 120 senior representatives from 65 universities around the world will convene this month in Seoul to discuss the social responsibilities of higher education and strategic global partnerships among academia, research, and industry to advance socio-economic values.
Higher education as a driver of change to address the social and global challenges facing humanity in the 21st century has never been as important as it is today.
KAIST will raise the topic of higher education as a driver of social change, innovation, and entrepreneurship with the heads of global universities at its seventh international forum to be held on April 11-12, 2016 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Seoul, the Republic of Korea.
The 2016 International Presidential Forum on Global Research Universities (IPFGRU) will bring over 120 presidents and vice presidents of 65 research universities and institutes from 36 nations together to discuss the theme of “Social Responsibilities of Higher Education and Strategic Global Partnership.”
Presidents Sung-Mo Kang of KAIST, Jacques Biot of École Polytechnique in France, and Peretz Lavie of the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology will address the conference as plenary speakers.
President Kang will speak about KAIST’s initiatives to produce creative talents through student-centered education, entrepreneurship curricula, and the integration of humanities into cutting-edge research programs. His presentation, titled “The Fostering of Creative Talents and the Social Responsibility of Research Universities in the New Era,” introduces KAIST’s educational philosophy which can be represented as π. A broad range of understanding in basic disciplines (the horizontal line) is supported with one prong of in-depth knowledge in a chosen field and the other in entrepreneurial spirit.
KAIST graduates have demonstrated extraordinary leadership in research, academia, business, and public service. Nearly 25% of the research and development personnel at Samsung Electronics are KAIST Ph.D. holders. President Kang also describes KAIST’s latest endeavor to turn a university-led entrepreneurial activity into a stable business based on research outcomes and campus innovations. The K-School, a one-year master’s degree program on entrepreneurship and innovation, has just launched and is expecting to receive its first batch of students this fall. The K-School is envisioned to continue the university’s legacy as a major feeder for startups in Korea.
President Lavie will give a talk on “Fostering an Innovation and Entrepreneurship (I&E) Ecosystem in Israel,” in which he describes how the Technion-Israel Institute has become integral to the foundation of the nation’s I&E platform. Since its establishment in 1912, the university has become a key player in the growth of Israel’s industry, science, and technology while nurturing the majority of the nation’s top-notch researchers, innovators, and entrepreneurs. Technion graduates have created more than 2,000 companies in Israel alone, generating 100,000 jobs and USD 30 billion through mergers and acquisitions.
President Biot will offer his insights into how the future of global research universities will be widely impacted by the emergence of disruptions triggered by the Fourth Industrial Revolution. In his speech entitled “How to Prepare Our Universities for the New Era of Industry 4.0,” he emphasizes that universities should take multi-disciplinary approaches to tackle societal challenges given the complexity of today’s problems ranging from climate change to energy crises, pandemic diseases, and poverty. He argues that universities should identify the needs of students in “Generation Z” who, from birth, have been heavily exposed to the Internet and digital technologies and, thus, universities should develop new educational systems (i.e., University 4.0.) to better prepare these students to cope with Industry 4.0.
The IPFGRU consists of presentations and discussions addressing the following sub-topics:
- Seeking a New Model of Research Universities in a New Era: This session will explore the role of research universities as both innovation drivers and growth engines in an age of robotics, globalization, and digitally-driven markets. In addition, speakers will discuss how to prepare universities for the Industry 4.0 era, and how multidisciplinary approaches and open innovations will play a large part in facilitating translational research and technology transfer.
- Shared Challenges and Responsibilities from a Global Perspective: Universities will share their strategies, policies, and practices to respond to critical issues facing local and global communities such as youth unemployment, the environment, energy, inequality, and entrepreneurship.
- Strategic Global Partnerships for Sustainable Development: Panelists will discuss how to build productive and sustainable partnerships that can generate synergies between education and research.
- Insights into Higher Education: Trends and Development: Participants will examine how universities can stay relevant in an increasingly competitive higher education sector and can assist students to better adapt to opportunities and challenges posed by the new industry of digital transformation and exponentially-growing technologies.
Sung-Hyon Myaeng, the Associate Vice President of the International Office at KAIST and a Co-chair of the 2016 IPFGRU said,
“The IPFGRU was established in 2008 to promote excellence and innovation in higher education with presidents of leading research universities and key policy-makers in the private and public sectors from across the world. Since then, it has served as one of the largest university gatherings in Asia, allowing participants to cooperate and share their expertise, ideas, and best practices taking place in academia, industry, and government.”
“This year’s meeting has recorded the largest number of universities participating, including 28 European schools, 20 Asian institutions, and 8 schools from the Americas, which I believe reflects a sense of urgency that global universities share. One way or another, we must adapt to the rapidly transforming educational and research environment encompassing higher learning,” added Myaeng.
For more information, go to http://forum.kaist.ac.kr.
2016.04.08 View 9130 -
Public Lectures on the Korean Language and Alphabet
The School of Humanities and Social Sciences at KAIST will offer public lectures on the Korean language and alphabet, Hangul, from March 22, 2016 to April 26, 2016.
The lectures, which are entitled “The Riddle of Hangul,” will take place on campus in Daejeon.
A total of six lectures will be held on such topics as the origin of Korean, the grammar of ancient Korean in the Chosun Dynasty (1392-1897), and subsequent developments in contemporary Korean.
Professor Jung-Hoon Kim, who is responsible for organizing the public lecture program, said, “The audience will have an interesting opportunity to understand the history of Korean and its mechanism, while reviewing the unique spelling system of Hangul. I hope many people will show up for these wonderful classes.”
For further information and registration, please visit: http://hss.kaist.ac.kr. All lectures, available only in Korean, are free and open to the public.
2016.03.15 View 7306 -
KAIST Offers Online Science Magnet High School Program
The Global Institute for Talented Education at KAIST has begun providing middle and high school students with in-depth online science education.
The institute receives applications until March 20, 2016. For details, please refer to the website: http://talented.kaist.ac.kr.
The program will run from March 21, 2016 to June 13, 2016.
Any middle and high school student can take courses on mathematics, science (physics, chemistry and biology), and information system (C language and Python computer language) based on their levels and needs. A total of 23 courses will be offered at the level of the first year of middle school to the second year of high school.
The online lecturers are drawn from science-magnet high schools nationwide. They will lead the classes to become more interactive with students, encouraging discussions and questions and answers.
KAIST students will also take part as tutors, helping the middle and high school students better understand the basic concept of the subjects they undertake and and to think creatively to solve problems.
About 500 top students will be chosen from the online course applicants to participate in a science camp hosted by KAIST during summer and winter vacations.
2016.03.14 View 4639 -
KAIST Identifies 27 Research Topics on Local Community
In tandem with the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology and Daejeon Civic Society Research Center, the Research Institute for Social Technology and Innovations at KAIST conducted a study on social challenges facing the local community and identified 27 research issues that could be solved with the help of science and technology.
The results of the study were released on March 10, 2016.
The research team prepared a report in an effort to encourage universities, research centers, and local citizens to cooperate in investigating social issues and finding their solutions.
The 27 issues were first chosen by pre-surveys and in-depth interviews with local citizens, and then discussed through public and expert workshops. Among the issues were environment, agriculture, energy, culture, public safety, family, and social integration. The team presented industrial complexes, agricultural facilities, and factories in rural areas were the most urgent issues of social concern within a city and province.
Hong-Gyu Lee, Director of the Research Institute for Social Technology and Innovations, said,
“The most serious problem that should be tackled in Daejon City is the chronic stench and garbage odor coming from industrial complexes, while environmental damages arisen from the development of new agricultural technology and factories are the major challenge in rural areas of Chungnam Province. This report is meaningful because citizens, universities, and research institutions worked together to find important issues related to the development of local community and explored solutions to solve those issues with the advancement of science and technology.”
2016.03.12 View 4775 -
Dr. Demis Hassabis, the Developer of AlphaGo, Lectures at KAIST
AlphaGo, a computer program developed by Google DeepMind in London to play the traditional Chinese board game Go, had five matches against Se-Dol Lee, a professional Go player in Korea from March 8-15, 2016. AlphaGo won four out of the five games, a significant test result showcasing the advancement achieved in the field of general-purpose artificial intelligence (GAI), according to the company.
Dr. Demis Hassabis, the Chief Executive Officer of Google DeepMind, visited KAIST on March 11, 2016 and gave an hour-long talk to students and faculty. In the lecture, which was entitled “Artificial Intelligence and the Future,” he introduced an overview of GAI and some of its applications in Atari video games and Go.
He said that the ultimate goal of GAI was to become a useful tool to help society solve some of the biggest and most pressing problems facing humanity, from climate change to disease diagnosis.
2016.03.11 View 4324 -
KAIST Ranks Third in the World's Top Universities for Attracting Industry Funding
The Times Higher Education released its World University Rankings online, naming the 20 best institutions that secured the largest amount of research funding from the private sector, on March 8, 2016.
The rankings were based on the 2013 record of industry-sector investments made per academic of an institution.
According to the list, KAIST ranked third with a figure of $254,700.
Germany’s Ludwig Maximilian University (Munich) took first place ($400,000), while the United State’s Duke University placed second ($290,000).
For a full list of the rankings, go to https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/funding-for-innovation-ranking-2016.
2016.03.08 View 3590 -
KAIST Commencement 2016
KAIST hosted its 2016 commencement ceremony on February 19, 2016 at the Sports Complex on campus.
KAIST celebrated the event with five thousand participants including graduating students, faculty, guests, Vice Minister Nam-Ki Hong of Science, ICT and Future Planning of Korea, Chairman Jang-Moo Lee of KAIST's Board of Trustees, and President Jeong-Sik Ko of the KAIST Alumni Association.
President Patrick Aebischer of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland, and the former Speaker of the National Assembly of Korea Chang-Hee Kang received honorary doctorates in science and technology for their contributions to the advancement of science and engineering in education and research.
KAIST granted 570 doctoral degrees, 1,329 master’s degrees, and 867 bachelor degrees on this day.
Yoon-Bum Lee of the Chemistry Department graduated with honors; Woo-Young Jin of the Mathematical Sciences Department received the Chairman’s Award of the KAIST Board and Eun-Hee Yoo of the Biological Sciences Department for the KAIST Presidential Award. Min-Hyun Cho and Yoon-Seok Chang were recipients of the President’s Award of the KAIST Alumni Association and the President’s Award of the University Supporting Association, respectively.
President Steve Kang addressed the ceremony and congratulated the graduates, saying,
“Now, your task is to make significant contributions to your communities: be leaders in your fields and remain active members of society. Given your academic knowledge and vision for the future, I encourage you to dream big.”
2016.02.23 View 40740 -
KAIST Graduate Han Receives a 2016 PECASE Award
President Barack Obama of the United States (US) announced 105 recipients of the 2016 Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) on February 18. Among the awardees was a graduate from the Department of Electrical Engineering at KAIST.
Dr. Jin-Woo Han has worked as a research scientist at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Ames Research Center since graduating from KAIST in 2010. This year, he is the only awardee who received a doctoral degree from a Korean university to become a recipient of the highest honor bestowed by the US government on science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their independent research careers.
The awards ceremony will take place in early spring at the White House in Washington, D.C.
Dr. Han has been involved in the development of radiation tolerant semiconductor devices as well as radiation and gas sensors under Dr. Meyya Meyyappan, Chief Scientist of the Center for Nanotechnology at NASA Ames Research Center.
KAIST and the NASA Ames Research Center made a research collaboration agreement in 2008, under which KAIST has sent 12 post-doctoral fellows to the center to date.
The PECASE awards, established in 1996 by President Bill Clinton, are coordinated by the Office of Science and Technology Policy within the Executive Office of the US President. Awardees are selected for their pursuit of innovative research at the frontiers of science and technology and their commitment to community services as demonstrated through scientific leadership, public education, or community outreach.
2016.02.23 View 8806 -
Workshop on Techniques in Prediction Analysis for the Industry
There has been growing interest in the value and the application of “big data” in recent years. To meet this interest, a workshop was held to discuss the possibility and the future of prediction analysis, which is the next big step in data mining after big data.
On February 25 in COEX, Seoul, the Department of Knowledge Service Engineering at KAIST held the 4th knowledge service workshop on “Techniques in Prediction Analysis for the Industry.”
Predication analysis is a technique that can predict the future based on the understanding of the past and the present through analyzing “big data.” If “big data” is fuel in figurative sense, the prediction analysis serves as the engine.
The Department seeks to help those companies interested in data mining by introducing fundamentals and some application examples to the executives of companies who are interested in implementation of the technique.
The lecture was delivered by six professors from the Department of Knowledge Service Engineering and the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at KAIST.
Thomas Miller, the author of Modeling Techniques in Predictive Analytics, covered the contents of his book at the event. Professor Moon-Yong Yi, Chair of the Department of Knowledge Service Engineering, said, “This conference will be important to companies that are considering the implementation of the prediction analysis as well as to students who are interested in the field.”
2016.02.22 View 4544 -
KAIST Confers Two Honorary Doctorates at Its 2016 Commencement
KAIST awarded two honorary doctoral degrees at this year’s commencement which took place on February 19, 2016.
Chang-Hee Kang (pictured on the left below), a former Speaker of the National Assembly of Korea and a serving member of the current Assembly, as well as Patrick Aebischer (pictured on the right), the President of the Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland, received honorary doctorates in science and technology.
National Assemblyman Kang was born in 1946 and grew up in Daejeon. He graduated from the Korea Military Academy in 1969, and received a master’s degree in management from Kyungnam University, Korea, in 1980.
He began his distinguished political career with his first election to the 11th National Assembly in 1983. Since then, he has been reelected to the Assembly five times, becoming a leading politician representing Daejeon and Chungchong Province for the past 35 years.
Throughout his career in public service, he served in various important offices, such as Chief Secretary for the Prime Minster of Korea, Chairman of the Telecommunications, Science and Technology Committee for the National Assembly, and the first Minister of Science and Technology of Korea.
Assemblyman Kang has always been a strong advocate for the important role that science and technology continue to play in the growth of Korea. He has worked on many of the critical issues relating to science and research in the nation, including the establishment of the Ministry of Science and Technology in the Korean government, the legislation of special law for science and technology innovation, and the adoption of Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) for the national standard of personal communication services.
In his acceptance speech for the degree, Assemblyman Kang said, “As a member of the science and technology community, and as a part of KAIST, I will strive harder to further advance the science and technology field of Korea.”
President Patrick Aebischer was born in 1954 in Fribourg, Switzerland. He was raised in a family of artists, from which his ingenuity, a character he has often displayed as a researcher, was nurtured.
He received a doctorate in medicine from the University of Geneva in 1980, and three years later, obtained a doctorate in neuroscience from the University of Fribourg.
He started his teaching and research career at Brown University in the United States in 1984, where he was eventually promoted to Associate Professor in medical sciences. After living nearly a decade in the United States, President Aebischer returned to Switzerland and became a professor at the Lausanne University Medical School, while serving at the same time as the Director of its Surgical Research Division and Gene Therapy Center.
President Aebischer was appointed by the Swiss Federal Council to lead EPFL in 1999, one of the two most prestigious science and technology universities in the nation. From March 2000, he has served as the President of EPFL.
Under his leadership, EPFL has flourished and expanded its reach across the globe. The university’s core expertise, engineering, has successfully evolved. In addition to engineering, it now offers some of the best programs in natural and life sciences, finance, and management in the world.
His endeavors to promote “disruptive innovations” for the advancement of his own institution, as well as for the whole community of science and research, have led him to introduce many reforms and changes “to push the envelope” on behalf of higher education in science and technology.
In his acceptance speech, President Aebischer said, “I strongly believe that the future belongs to forward-looking and entrepreneurial universities, such as KAIST—to be able to offer a unique education aimed at finding solutions to the global issues such as climate change, dwindling natural resources, aging, cyber-security, and migration amongst others.”
2016.02.19 View 4947