KAIST

Good morning ladies and gentlemen.
Welcome to all our distinguished guests, faculty, staff, and students who are with us for the Vision 2031 Declaration Ceremony.

We are honored by the presence of the honorable Minister of Science and ICT Young Min You, the honorable Kenyan ambassador to Korea, Mohamed Gello, the honorable Israeli Ambassador to Korea, Chaim Choshen, the honorable Ethiopian Ambassador, Shiferaw Jarso, the honorable member of the National Assembly Gun-Hyeon Lee, members of the President’s Advisory Council including Dr. Kun Mo Chung, who is the chair of the PAC, and many other distinguished guests.

In particular, I would like to recognize all the support of the Ministry of Science and ICT and its Fourth Industrial Revolution HR Committee for the Advanced Institutes of Science and Technology.

Established in 1971, KAIST has grown into a world-class university thanks to your support as well as the support of the government and the Korean people.

The Terman Report, which guided the founders of KAIST as they steered the new institution, declared an ambitious vision for 30 years down the road. The following quote is from the last chapter of the Report, titled “The Dream of the Future.”

“It will by 2000 be a great Institute of Technology with an international reputation. KAIST will have spearheaded a new era in education. Even more important, KAIST will have enhanced the self-confidence of Koreans, and will have become a cornerstone in the establishment of a stable free society in Korea.”

More than 47 years after the Terman Report was published, most of the goals contained in the report have been achieved. KAIST played a crucial role in Korea’s remarkable economic growth and advancement of science and technology in the past half-century. Our 62,000 graduates, including 12,600 PhDs, have held key positions in universities, research institutes, and government. They were the key players behind Korea’s innovation, leading to the country’s industrial development. KAIST graduates currently account for 23% of high-ranking positions in the field of science and technology in Korea. For instance, in the Korean semiconductor industry, which is dominating the global market, one in every four PhDs is a KAIST alumnus.

KAIST also opened a new chapter of entrepreneurship and startup of Korea. Our graduates have founded 1,456 companies, creating 32,000 jobs and raking in 13.6 trillion KRW in annual sales. Considering that government investments over the past 47 years amounted to just 3.1 trillion KRW, KAIST is surely one of the government’s most successful projects in terms of return on investment.

KAIST has earned an unparalleled global reputation as a world-class university. The 2017 QS World University Rankings placed KAIST 41st overall, 14th in engineering, and 3rd among universities under 50 years old. Thomson Reuters ranked KAIST the sixth most innovative university in the world and the top in the Asia-Pacific region for two consecutive years from 2016.

KAIST does not want to be satisfied with this success. KAIST will continue to move toward a new vision and our next dream. We will embrace making further innovations under the Vision 2031 plan. New challenges and opportunities in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution will sustain KAIST to steer us toward continued national development and beyond, just as they did during the industrial budding stage of Korea in the 1970s. Much will change in the years ahead, and we believe those changes will lead to a KAIST that is richer and more vibrant than anything we could have dreamed.

Now, KAIST re-embarks on a new journey to be the university serving the people, which will bring out the hope and pride of Koreans.

At this ceremony, KAIST now declares its new vision and innovative strategies for the year 2031, which will mark its 60th anniversary.

KAIST envisions being a “Global Value-Creative Leading University.” KAIST aims to be one of the most innovative universities, which will take the lead in creating new academic, technological, economic, and social values. This public declaration of our vision will help to renew our commitment and dedication to the advancement of science and technology through unsurpassable research and education.

To this end, KAIST has established strategic innovation plans over five areas.
First, in education, KAIST will foster creative leaders who will translate the knowledge created by science and technology into social values.
Second, in research, KAIST will conduct research projects to address both national and global challenges.
Third, in technology commercialization innovation, KAIST will pursue becoming an entrepreneurial university that will enrich its technological value.
Fourth, in globalization innovation, KAIST will move forward to serve as a world bridge.
And fifth, in future strategy innovation, KAIST will steer toward the ‘What’ (problem definition) over the ‘How’ (problem solving) for addressing challenges.

The ideal KAISTian is defined by the 3C spirit: Challenge, Creativity, and Caring. Members of KAIST are expected to embrace challenges, generate creative ideas, and care for others.
This 3C spirit embodies the 2031 Vision slogan of “Making a beautiful difference beyond imagination!”

By recommitting to its new vision for our next chapter, the five innovation strategies, and the 3C spirit, KAIST will emerge as one of the most innovative global universities of science and technology by the year 2031 and contribute to the happiness and prosperity of humankind. It will be a great source of pride for Koreans, and lay the foundation for Korea to take the lead in the age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

I look forward to your continued support for KAIST as we now embark on our journey toward the new vision.

The Vision 2031 Committee, which is composed of 143 members in and out of KAIST, reached a shared vision for KAIST. For the past 10 months, they have gone through heated discussions as well as the consensus building process of public hearings, embracing all of the community members of KAIST.

Professor Kwang Hyung Lee, the co-chair of the Vision 2031 Committee, will now brief you on what they were able to accomplish.

Please join me in welcoming Professor Lee with a big round of applause.