KAIST’s current standing as Asia’s top institute of science and technology is thanks entirely to the continued dedication and support from its alumni, friends, parents, students, corporations, foundations, KAIST families, professors, and staff
Now, KAIST stands at a very important juncture that will determine its future as the world’s best scientific and technological university. It is your contribution that will write the future of KAIST.
Alumni
KAIST takes great pride in its 31,000 alumni who are active leaders in industry, academia, and the economy. The development fund contributed by its alumni serves as a basis for KAIST to become the world’s premier institute of science and technology. The time calls for change and enthusiastic fervor to make KAIST the world’s academic leader in science and technology. KAIST needs the support from its alumni now more than ever.
Parents
Devoted, remarkable parents are the ones who make the students at KAIST so exceptional. With their extraordinary love, parent associations at science high schools nationwide donate anywhere from several million to tens of million won to the Development Fund each year. Also, parents of the alumni who completed their undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs successfully thanks to the scholarship that they had received are making a monthly donation of a fixed amount to express their appreciation for KAIST
Students
The benefits that students enjoy at KAIST are too tremendous to measure in monetary terms. That means that students owe a debt of gratitude to their alma mater and the nation. There is a growing number of enrolled students pledging to contribute to the Development Fund to join in the effort to build KAIST into the world’s best science and technology university. The funds that enrolled students contribute to the school are more meaningful for the development of our school.
Friends / A lot of people who love KAIST are making contributions to
the school although they are not our alumni.
Former President of Mirae Corporation Jeong Mun-sul
Chairman Jeong Mun-sul (68) is a great entrepreneur who founded Mirae Corporation, a semi-conductor equipment venture company. In order to return his personal assets to society, he donated 30 billion won, requesting that KAIST nurture human resources and technologies that can lead our nation’s economy through research on off-the-beaten-path areas by exploring new realms of studies in the bio-convergence engineering field, thus paving the way for KAIST to contribute to the development of science and technology by taking on challenges in new areas. We have used such funds to build the Jeong Munsul Building, a research building of the Department of Biosystem Studies, and to carry out BT + IT research funds. He was selected to be awarded the first honorary doctoral degree since the KAIST foundation, based on his contribution to society in February 2007.
Chairman of the Ambex Group Lee Jong-mun
Chairman Lee Jong-mun (78) founded the Ambex Venture Group, a venture capital company, in Silicon Valley and played a beachhead role for Korea’s IT companies advancing into the United States. He donated two billion won to KAIST in 1994 and established the Entrepreneurship Research Center and opened Lee Jong-mun Library in 2006, thereby having a great impact on the education of economy and management and entrepreneurship for engineering students. As a member of the President’s Advisory Council of KAIST, he is now working hard for the globalization of KAIST. KAIST awarded the first honorary doctor degree to him in Feb. 2007
Ms. Kim Young-han
In December 1999, her last will and testament were delivered to KAIST. She donated Namchon Building worth more than ten billion won, located near the Gyodae subway station in Seocho-dong, Seoul, to KAIST, leaving in her will directions for the building to be used to nurture talented scientists and engineers for the nation. We offer the Kim Younghan Global Leader Scholarship through the proceeds from the operation of the Namchon Building.
Ms. Lee Bong-ae
Since 1997, she has provided more than 200 million won for KAIST students. Explaining why she decided to offer the scholarship to KAIST, she said that it was urgent for talented scientists and engineers to enhance our national prestige. She expressed her deep sorrow for not having been able to receive a proper education, saying “If you are not properly educated, life is like groping your way in the darkness.
Corporations and Foundations
Through donations as well as university-industry cooperation programs, corporations and foundations can become partners of KAIST in achieving mutual growth. If your corporation or foundation has questions about how to start a university-industry cooperation program or about donation, please contact Kim Hyunsoo at the KAIST Development Foundation.
Professors
The outstanding research outcomes and top-notch education by the school’s professors have contributed greatly to enhancing KAIST’s renown around the world. KAIST’s professors contribute to the institute not only through their devoted teaching and enthusiastic research endeavors but also through donation to the Development Fund, thereby serving as reliable and trustworthy supporters for KAIST’s future.
Staff
Many members of KAIST staff have been contributing to the Development Fund through from their monthly salary deduction and some of them would make a lifetime contribution to the fund.
Naming
KAIST commemorates donors’ wishes and dedications by naming its buildings, lecture rooms, facilities, and academic programs after the donors. Examples are as follows.
Jeong Munsul Building
SK Group donated 12 billion won to renovate the KAIST Graduate School of Management building, and the building’s first floor is named Choi Jonghyeon Hall after the SK Group chairman.