KAIST

Dear members of KAIST,

The year of the white ox is now upon us.
The white ox is a symbol of blessing, abundance, and energy.
May you and your family enjoy good health and happiness throughout the year.

In 2020, COVID-19 severely disrupted our lives. I appreciate your strong sense of community and active cooperation with the disease prevention measures and social distancing guidelines laid out by both the government and university.

Our university was on full alert and quickly responded to the pandemic by establishing our emergency response system and taking measures to keep all our members safe from the pandemic. We have also made extensive preparations for the post-COVID-19 era and the Fourth Industrial Revolution to achieve our vision of becoming a Global Value-Creative Leading University that contributes to the prosperity and advancement of humanity.

Now, I would like to look back what we achieved last year.

First, let’s look at education innovation.

We adopted online lectures for all our courses. Capitalizing on the COVID-19 crisis as an opportunity to fully utilize Education 4.0, we successfully provided more than 1,300 courses each semester via the online education platform.

We launched the Yeouido Digital Finance Graduate School in collaboration with Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Financial Services Commission. This program aims to nurture finance experts capable of integrating AI and big data.

We began developing the Global 7 Leadership Program to help nurture next-generation global leaders. Students will gain the necessary soft skills required for young global leaders in seven areas: challenging mind, creativity, caring, trust, justice, communication, and global manners.

Second is research innovation.

We launched the COVID-19 New Deal R&D Initiative last year. Led by 44 of our faculty members, the initiative involves more than 120 experts from industries, universities, research institutes, and hospitals. As a key player in overcoming the national crisis, we will develop antivirus core technologies for prevention, diagnosis, protection, and treatment. Ultimately, we hope to contribute to creating a new antivirus industry and enhance the wellbeing of humanity.

The Satellite Technology Research Center launched the Microsatellite Constellation System project, which will develop 11 clustered microsatellites and a utilization system to allow prompt responses to national disasters. The program will be carried out over the next eight years in collaboration with an alumni startup, Satrec Initiative Co., and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute.

We also selected the Brain Function Redesign by Molecular Optogenetics research group as the Global Singularity Research Project, which aims to accelerate flagship convergence research at KAIST. This selection brings the total number of singularity research groups to three. The program is expected to produce the world’s best, first, or only outcomes within the next ten years.

We established the Korea AI Manufacturing Platform. We will offer manufacturing data and AI analytical services for small and medium-sized enterprises and startups, thereby driving innovation in smart manufacturing in collaboration with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, NHN, and KT.

Despite the limitations imposed by COVID-19, we have seen an improvement in many indicators of research excellence. Our total research fund in 2020 was about 10% larger than last year’s. In May, our research competitiveness was introduced in detail in the prestigious journal Nature.

Third is technology commercialization innovation.

The Office of University-Industry Cooperation was renamed the Institute of Technology Value Creation, so as to strengthen our expertise in the strategic management of intellectual property and international technology transfers. In addition, four faculty startups and 12 student startups were launched thanks to our active commercialization of outstanding R&D outcomes.

Finally, we have future strategy innovation.

We established the Global Strategy Institute, which seeks to position itself as a global think tank. Last year, it held three online international forums, with each forum attracting more than 10,000 participants. The GSI has enhanced the global reputation of KAIST, especially in terms of future strategies driven by science and technology.

In the past year, many people have shown support for KAIST and a commitment to our vision in a variety of ways. We appointed 42 new faculty and 19 staff members, who have expressed a determination to champion our vision. We have also received generous donations from individuals with high hopes for KAIST as the future of Korea and humanity. We received a donation of 10 billion won from alumnus Byeong-Gyu Chang last January and 8.5 billion won from an anonymous donor in February. Chairwoman Soo-Young Lee of the KAIST Development Foundation donated 67.6 billion won for the Singularity Professorship in July, and Honorary Chairman Jae-Chul Kim of Dongwon Group donated 50 billion won for supporting education and research in AI last month.

With many of your dreams turning into reality last year, we have taken a step closer to becoming a Global Value-Creative Leading University. I’d like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to all our faculty, staff, and students, without whom KAIST would not have made it this far.

Dearest members of KAIST,

KAIST will be celebrating its 50^th anniversary in the year of the white ox.

Since our establishment in 1971, we have served Korea and its citizens. We have fulfilled most of the dreams we had for national development 50 years ago. As one of the pioneers of education in Korea, we ushered in the age of industrialization and informatization, and earned our reputation as a world-class university.

We envision a brighter future for the world and humanity in the next 50 years. Building upon our achievements from the past half-century, we have begun the next phase of our journey under the goal of becoming a Global Value-Creative Leading University that benefits the humanity.

In celebration of our 50^th anniversary, we will reflect on the past 50 years and share our goals for the next 50 years by organizing various celebratory events. We hope to raise awareness about the role of KAIST and enhance our global reputation through events such as the official 50^th anniversary ceremony on February 16, the KAIST Summit on February 3 to be held with distinguished figures around the world, the science festival Open KAIST in October, and publications on the past and the future of KAIST.

We will construct the 50^th Anniversary Commemorative Building with donations from alumni and KAIST members. The new building will be equipped with educational spaces to instill the C³ spirit of Challenge, Creativity, and Caring in students, an alumni lounge, and the Global Strategy Institute. We look forward to your continued support for constructing the 50^th Anniversary Commemorative Building, soon to be a new landmark of KAIST.

The year of the white ox marks a new beginning as well as a turning point in the development of KAIST. A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality. Let’s work together toward our vision of becoming a Global Value-Creative Leading University!

Once again, I wish you all good health and happiness always.

Thank you.

January 1, 2021

Sung-Chul Shin
President of KAIST