KAIST

Good morning, distinguished guests, students, and faculty.
Thank you for joining us.

It is my great pleasure to welcome you to this special gathering. I am thankful for this opportunity to honor our generous donors. I give our donors my heartfelt thanks. Your support is invaluable to us.

In particular, I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to:
- Bangladesh Ambassador Her Excellency Abida Islam,
- Ecuador Ambassador H.E. Oscar Herrera Gilbert,
- El Salvador Ambassador H.E. Milton Alcides Magana Herrera,
- Ethiopia Ambassador H.E. Shiferaw Jarso,
- Nicaragua Ambassador H.E. Edgardo Jose Cuarezma,
- Consular at the Ghana Embassy Mr. Stephen Danso Paynin,
for your generous gifts and taking time out of your busy schedules to attend this ceremony.

I very much appreciate the donation initiative made by the Global IT Technology Program students and their hosting countries’ ambassadors since 2008. Your support helps us fulfill our educational missions. You provide opportunities for the students and also contribute to the research conducted throughout the KAIST campus. Our researchers are addressing the most complex problems the world faces today.

I believe that your generous gift is the wisest investments you will ever made. Now, you join us in the pursuit of excellence and are supporting the innovations developed at KAIST to better serve the world. Thank you for being part of the KAIST initiative.

The trees we have planted in appreciation of our donors for the past decade are flourishing on our campus. I believe the new trees we will plant today represent the potential for our shared mission and vision. I look forward to your personal and professional growth, and the continued development of both countries as the trees continue to grow.

Global ITTP was launched in 2006 to educate elite public officials from diverse countries on information and communication technology. This program has played a vital role for transferring Korea’s advanced information and communication technology to many countries whose industries are in the budding stages. Over the past years, the ITTP program has conferred degrees upon approximately 200 public officials from over 50 countries. The program has expanded to cover diverse areas of ICT and grown into a global network of ICT leaders abroad.

KAIST also has grown into a world-class university. We have earned a strong global reputation during a short period of time. Many foreign countries tried to benchmark KAIST. I receive so many requests to cooperate in founding top-notch science and technology institutes from China as well as countries in South East Asia and Africa, among others.

KAIST does not want to be satisfied with this success. I strongly believe that KAIST is responsible for furthering global cooperation and collaboration to transfer this successful educational model to many countries. That is our social responsibility that we must pay back to the global society.

Toward such an effort, we declared Vision 2031 last month in preparation for our 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 value through innovations in education, research, technology commercialization, globalization, and future strategy.

For innovation in education, KAIST will foster creative leaders who will translate the knowledge created by science and technology into social value. For innovation in research, KAIST will conduct research projects to address both national and global challenges. For innovation in technology commercialization, KAIST will work to become an entrepreneurial university that will enrich its technological value. For innovation in globalization, KAIST will move forward to serve as a world bridge. And for innovation in future strategy, KAIST will steer toward the ‘What’ (problem definition) over the ‘How’ (problem solving) for addressing challenges.

Let me share one story of a ‘global bridge’ with you.

Last week, I had the opportunity to visit to the UAE for hosting the Nuclear Industry Friendship and KAIST Alumni Night event. Both the UAE Minister of Education and the Minister of Advanced Sciences attended the event.

On the second day of the event, I had a meeting with the Minister of Advanced Sciences, Sarah Al Amiri, and one of a high-ranking officials from the Ministry accompanying the minister to attend the meeting. I was very impressed to know that the official is a KAIST graduate.

The most gratifying moment as president, as well as an educator, is whenever I meet our graduates working remarkably well all across the world. That Emirati graduate is strengthening the bridge between the UAE and Korea. I hope many of you will play the same role, as this global bridge, when you return home after completing this program.

Half of the students here are Ph.D. candidates. Most of you know that Ph.D. stands for Doctor of Philosophy.

I would like to stress that a KAIST Ph.D. should be different. It should also stand for Philanthropic, Honest, and Determined. If you keep working with these values in mind, you will have successful career wherever you work and serve as a successful global bridge.

KAIST will also continue to move toward our next dream. We will spare no effort to develop further innovations under Vision 2031, along with our core values of Creativity, Challenge, and Caring.

Much will change in the years ahead, and we believe those changes will lead to KAIST that is richer and more vibrant than anything we could have dreamed.

And I believe you made a very wise investment to the right place. Thank you for joining our new journey to be the university making the world better, which will bring out the hope and pride of all the people around the world.

Let me close my speech by thanking all of you once again and wishing you continued success in your career and happiness in your life.

Thank you very much.