KAIST

Good morning everyone.
It is my great pleasure and honor to open the KAIST-THE Innovation and Impact Summit.

Speakers, panelists, sponsors, and participants.
Thank you for your participation and I warmly welcome you all to KAIST and Daejeon.

I would like to express my deep gratitude to our co-organizers, CEO Trevor Barrett and CKO Phil Baty from THE and the KAIST team including Associate Vice President Jae-Hyung Lee, who have been organizing this summit for one whole year.

Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen!

The world is facing the great wave of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The transformations will occur at an unprecedented speed, and their breadth and depth will be beyond our imagination. We should prepare for the impacts the new transformation will bring about in our society and economy.

Charles Darwin once said, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.” The key to survival is adapting rapidly to changes.

Looking back at the history of humankind, universities have advanced civilizations by creating new knowledge. For centuries, we have fostered talents to address social needs, conducted research to make innovations, and generated value through technology commercialization.

As I mentioned at the welcoming dinner last night, Korea’s phenomenal growth was fully backed by KAIST, the university that represents innovation and technology advancement in Korea.

Since its foundation, KAIST has made a history of many firsts in Korea and served as a catalyst for Korea’s dramatic S&T growth.

In 1971, KAIST was founded as the first research university in Korea
In the 80s, we launched the first Korea’s satellite, KITSAT-1
In the 90s, the first supercomputer
In the 2000s, the first humanoid robot of Korea, Hubo.

KAIST has taken the lead demonstrating Korea’s scientific prowess by publishing more than 3,000 papers a year in international journals and registers 150 overseas patents.

KAIST is also the cradle of startups in Korea. Our alumni have founded more than 1,500 companies, created 42,000 jobs, and recorded 14 billion US dollars in sales.

The government has enjoyed a high return on investment considering that its investment over the past 48 years amounted to just 3 billion US dollars. In terms of startups alone, KAIST is one of the government’s most successful projects.

KAIST has produced nearly 64,000 graduates, including 13,000 PhDs. They have taken up 23% of the leadership roles in the science and technology community, and comprise 20% of the professorships in S&E domestic departments of universities.

In Daedeok Innopolis, about one in every four PhDs is a KAIST alumnus. In the semiconductor industry, which is dominating the global market, our graduates account for 25% of master’s and doctoral degree holders. Most of the CEOs and CTOs of major semiconductor companies are KAIST graduates.

Thomson Reuters ranked KAIST as the most innovative university in the Asia-Pacific region for three consecutive years, and sixth in the world.

I would like to share the three factors behind our success.

First, we had a clear vision. The Terman Report, which served as the blueprint for the establishment of KAIST, declared that the institute would spearhead a new era in education and enhance the self-confidence of Koreans.

Second, we delivered innovation. As Korea’s first research university, KAIST has produced outstanding scientists and engineers with its differentiated educational programs, and led national development through innovative research.

Third, KAIST graduates have walked the road not taken and gained recognition as pioneers in their respective fields.

Driven by Vision, Innovation, Pioneership, namely VIP spirit, KAIST has fulfilled most of the goals set at the time of its establishment.

Now, with our eyes on the global stage, KAIST pursues to become a Global Value-Creative Leading University under Vision 2031. By creating new value, KAIST seeks to contribute to the sustainable growth of humanity. To achieve our vision, we have established innovation strategies in education, research, technology commercialization, globalization, and the future.

I would like to see the ‘C ³ ’ Spirit infused in the strategies for university innovation and impact in the age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. In the past half-century, KAIST has grown into a world-class university based on the two Cs of Challenge and Creativity. Now, with the new goal of becoming a Global Value-Creative Leading University, we pursue the ‘C ³ ’ Spirit, adding a Caring spirit on top of the first two Cs.

I hope that this summit will produce innovative policies and best practices to create a better world based on the ‘C ³ ’ Spirit. In keeping with the Caring spirit, let us establish a platform of global cooperation to pave the way to a brighter future for all.

Let me close my speech by welcoming you all once again and extend an invitation for you to explore our beautiful campus full of cherry blossoms during your stay.

Thank you very much.

April 3, 2019

Sung-Chul Shin
President of KAIST