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President Nam Pyo Suh of KAIST discussed cooperation with KUSTAR on the training of skilled manpower for research and development (R&D)
Representatives from Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Khalifa University of Science, Technology and Research (KUSTAR), Emirate Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC), and the Institute of Applied Technology (IAT) had a meeting on mutual cooperation at the Intercontinental Hotel in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), on January 14, 2009.
Participants of the meeting were President Nam Pyo Suh of KAIST, President Arif Sultan Al Hammadi of KUSTAR, President Mohamed Al Hammadi of ENEC, and Director General Abdullatif Mohamed Al Shamsi of IAT.
A press conference on the training of skilled manpower for research and development (R&D) in the UAE followed afterwards.
At the end of December in 2009, a Korean consortium led by Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) beat bids from its competitors to construct four nuclear power plants in the UAE. Representing the consortium, Minister Kyung Hwan Choi of Knowledge Economy Ministry signed a comprehensive agreement with KUSTAR and the Institute of Applied Technology (IAT) for the delivery of nuclear power plants.
On his visit, President Suh discussed with KUSTAR the agreement above in greater detail on subjects, where KAIST renders its cooperation, such as research collaboration, university degree program, and training to produce qualified personnel necessary for the development of UAE’s nuclear energy industry.
On research collaboration, sharing its expertise and knowledge accumulated years from the operation of academic and research programs, KAIST agreed to provide cooperation to KUSTAR in developing the latter as a leading science, technology, and research university in ten years through mutual activities such as research collaborations, recruitment and exchange of outstanding researchers and graduate students, expansion of research facilities, and creation of major research policies. Furthermore, in support of nuclear energy program in the UAE, KAIST agreed to develop a joint research program in nuclear engineering and exchange faculty members and students for research collaboration.
On a university degree program, KAIST agreed for mutual cooperation to launch academic programs at KUSTAR, covering BSc, MSc, and PhD degrees to specialize in areas such as mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, nuclear engineering, biomedical engineering, nano technology, science, and information technology. To that end, KAIST will dispatch its faculty to KUSTAR; provide assistance in developing curriculum and teaching materials; and exchange students for research collaboration.
President Arif of KUSTAR mentioned that the university will cooperate with the relevant institutions in Korea, i.e., Korea Development Institute (KDI) and the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS), to train skilled workers required for the development of nuclear energy program in the UAE.
He also added, “These cooperative programs will introduce more educational opportunities to our students, and as a result, they can make greater contributions to the development of our nation’s future technologies in various areas. Our students will have a chance to study a broad range of academic subjects through partnership made with the Republic of Korea, and I expect to see improvements in our engineering programs by integrating KAIST’s state-of-the-art academic courses into our system.”
President Arif expressed his hope “to increase cooperation beyond the agreement made between the two countries, like allowing more exchanges and interactions with KAIST for the development of science and technology in Korea and the UAE.”
“Establishing mutual cooperation between KAIST and KUSTAR is a historic event not only for our two universities but also for our two countries. The two universities will make a great contribution to the improvement of the future of humanity by working together to solve the most important, difficult issues faced in the 21st century,” said President Suh.
He also said that “all members of KAIST community will make our utmost efforts to advance the quality of education in two schools and to implement innovative researches through mutual cooperation.”
KUSTAR, a national university in the UAE, was founded on February 13, 2007 by a mandate of the current President Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan to create a higher education institute.
KUSTAR has been building its permanent campus in Abu Dhabi, the capital of UAE since establishment and merged with the campus in Sharjah (formerly known as Etisalat University College with 18 years of history) in 2008. The University offers education and research programs in five disciplines of engineering, logistics and management, health science, homeland security, and applied science.
There are more or less 30 foreign accredited universities set up in the UAE from countries like the US, UK, Australia, France, Ireland, and Canada. Examples of such, among other things, are New York University Abu Dhabi campus and Middlesex University Dubai campus.
Many of the foreign universities in the UAE, however, have colleges of pharmacy, computer science, aviation, management information, fashion design, business management, and medical science including Harvard Medical School Dubai Center, but not many in science and research. Therefore, KAIST’s assistance in KUSTAR’s endeavor to become a leading science and research university in the UAE is timely. The current government of UAE anticipates, with a great interest, to see a leading science and research intuition built in their nation.
Attachment: Current Status of Universities in the UAE as of 2009
Background Information
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a federation of seven emirates (Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al-Quwain, Ras al-Khaimah, and Fujairah) situated on the Arabian Peninsula, which borders with Oman and Saudi Arabia.
The UAE has the world"s sixth largest oil reserves. As of 2008, its gross domestic product is $2,621,000.5 million and its nominal per capita gross domestic product is $5 5,028, becoming one of the most developed economies in the Middle East. The UAE’s total population as of the said year is 4,760.4 thousand, and its purchasing power per capita is 40th largest in the world. The UAE’s Human Development Index for Asian continent is relatively high, ranking 31st globally.
In 1985, the UAE launched its own airline, Emirates Airline, which has become one of the fastest growing airlines in the world. The Emirates Airline is a sponsor for Arsenal soccer club.
The Republic of Korea established full diplomatic relations with the UAE in June of 1980. On December 27, 2009, a Korean consortium led by Korea Electrical Power Corporation (KEPCO) signed a contract with the UAE to build nuclear power plants.
2010.01.15 View 17811 -
2010 New Year Message
The State of KAIST in 2009 & 2010:
Assessing the Past Year’s Accomplishments and
Next Year’s Challenges and Opportunities
Nam Pyo Suh
President, KAIST
January 4, 2010
Summary
2009 was a great year for KAIST, with every member of the KAIST family working to cement KAIST’s position among the world’s leading universities. Faculty, staff and students alike have made unique and important contributions to toward this goal through major advances in research, education, and service. Our work in science, technology, and education will profoundly impact industry and society, in Korea and throughout the world. In addition to achieving major scientific discoveries and developing technologies and processes, our faculty has greatly improved KAIST’s curriculum and pedagogical practices. Many professors have been recognized by many organizations in and outside of Korea in 2009. Our students have contributed to KAIST through their involvement in research and a wide array of extracurricular activities. Our staff has accomplished a seamless merger of ICU and KAIST, in addition to managing a variety of other demanding projects. As a result of all of these contributions, KAIST is a stronger, more dynamic institution today than it was a year ago.
In the coming year, KAIST must continue its efforts to become one of the best universities in the world. While building on our previous accomplishments, we will face new challenges. We will have to identify and commence challenging research projects, while continuing to evolve our educational programs. We have several construction projects to complete. And we must continue to expand KAIST’s sphere of influence, collaborating with colleagues around the world. With our dedication to excellence, 2010 will be a productive and intellectually rewarding year.
Our past efforts have attracted attention both internationally and domestically. Our progress in education and research has been recognized by international ranking agencies (QS/The London Times) and domestic newspapers. For example, international ranking agency QS listed KAIST 21st in engineering and IT, 39th in sciences, and 69th overall -- from 243th in 2005 and 198th in 2006 – making KAIST the fastest rising university. And domestic newspapers, JoongAng Ilbo and Chosun Ilbo, rated KAIST the top university in Korea.
I am personally most grateful to thousands of financial contributors to KAIST, who have enabled us to undertake critical projects, both physical and academic. Thanks to their contributions, KAIST will continue to renovate and innovate in the years to come. Chairman Byung-Ho Kim made the largest gift in 2009, following the important tradition established by Chairman Moon-Sool Chung, Chairman Chong-Moon Lee, Dr. Byiung-Joon Park, Chairman Neil Pappalardo, Professor Geun-Chul Lyu, Chairman Donald C. W. Kim, Dr. Hyung-Kyu Lim, and many others. Their contributions will be remembered for establishing the tradition of philanthropic giving in Korea.
KAIST has also been fortunate to receive tremendous support from the Korean government. The government and the National Assembly have enabled KAIST to undertake two ambitious and bold projects: the On-Line Electric Vehicle (OLEV) project and the Mobile Harbor (MH) project. By demonstrating these projects’ success, we hope the government will continue to provide strong support in 2010, as we believe they will yield rich educational, scientific, technological, and economic returns to taxpayers.
CY 2009 – A Retrospective Assessment
CY 2009 has been a remarkable year for KAIST. We have made great strides in making KAIST into one of the best universities in the world, with a strategy that addresses the most important challenges of the 21st century – in the spheres of energy, environment, water and sustainability (EEWS) – through multi-disciplinary education, research, and technological innovation.
The following are the major highlights of the past year (listed in no particular order):
Education in 2009
1. Three years ago, KAIST developed educational and research strategies that have continued to evolve and improve. In education, our goals have been to admit the most capable students, to teach synthesis as well as analysis, and to produce graduates who can compete both globally and locally. To achieve the first goal, we have adopted new admissions policies, which have proved effective at bringing some of the best and the brightest minds to KAIST (see 6). Regarding the 2nd goal, freshman students are now required to take the freshman design subject to make them “bi-functional” in both synthesis and analysis. As for the 3rd goal, The Mileage Program continues to broaden the outlook of our undergraduate students. To make our students competitive globally, we have actively recruited international students and faculty and adopted English as the official language of instruction.
2. KAIST has tried to instill a sense of responsibility in our students. To this end, we have asked them to complete their prescribed degree programs within the allotted time. While we emphasize academic achievements, we also believe that health and physical exercise are also important. Therefore, we are constructing a new athletics facility to strengthen our students’ mental fortitude by augmenting it with active participation in sports and through physical exercise.
3. To re-focus our educational and research programs, we have re-organized KAIST into six Colleges and created three new academic departments. The six colleges are: College of Natural Science, College of Engineering, College of Information Science and Technology, College of Life Science and Bioengineering, College of Business, and College of Cultural Science. Four new academic units created in 2009 are the Department of Knowledge and Service Engineering in the College of Information Science and Technology, the Department of Ocean Systems and Graduate School of EEWS in the College of Engineering, and the Graduate School of Nano-Science and Technology in the College of Natural Science.
4. KAIST has also initiated new graduate-level educational programs in a number of fields -- ocean systems, nano-science and technology, EEWS, knowledge and service engineering, intellectual property, science and technology journalism, and Ph.D. education for medical doctors (MDs). We also have received strong support for the WCU programs in a number of fields from the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST).
5. In addition, we have strengthened our programs in systems and design in order to change the nature of engineering education and the intellectual perspective of the freshman at KAIST. Colleagues who have taught the freshman design course attest that it has achieved its educational goal -- Professors Kate Thompson and Taesik Lee have done a great job making it successful. We have also launched many new programs, including the Renaissance Ph.D. Program under the direction of Professor Dong-Yul Yang. Also, KAIST has two new masters of science (MS) programs – MS in Intellectual Property and MS in Science Journalism – under the leadership of Dean Kwang Hyung Lee. Professor Chul-Ho Kim will direct the MS in IP Program and Dean Kwang Hyung Lee will direct the MS in Science Journalism.
6. KAIST is committed to seeking and admitting talented students. In 2009, we initiated a new process for selecting and admitting the most qualified undergraduate students from normal high schools, in addition to continuing the interview-based admissions process introduced two years ago. Under the new process, the principal of each normal high school (there are roughly 1,300 in Korea) was asked to recommend one student for KAIST. After a preliminary screening by the Admissions Office, followed by an interview at the KAIST campus, 150 students were admitted from this group.
(These newly admitted students have been given the opportunity to make up for any deficiencies in mathematics, physics and chemistry by taking on-line KAIST courses. Dean Kwang Hyung Lee created the experimental Bridge Program this year, with over 130 high school students subscribing to complete the final semester of high school education. Mid-term examination results indicated that these students are thriving at KAIST.)
This new admissions process supplements the process successfully introduced two years ago, in which students are admitted based on interviews and high school grades only – a change that has proved of great interest to other universities in Korea. Using this process, KAIST will admit an additional 850 students from the Science High Schools, the Korea Science Academy, and normal high schools. The composition of the incoming 1,000-student freshman class is consistent with the goals established in the Five Year Plan.
7. KAIST has signed several agreements with universities and research institutes abroad for student exchanges, dual degree programs, and post-doctoral studies. In 2009, international students from 72 countries studied at KAIST. KAIST has also sponsored two recent Ph.D.s as post-doctoral fellows at the NASA Ames Research Center, California, United States.
8. In December 2009, as a part of the UAE-Korea agreement, KAIST agreed to collaborate with the Khalifa University of Science, Technology and Research (KUSTAR), the leading scientific and technological university in Abu Dhabi. Under this program, KAIST will aid KUSTAR with its educational and research programs in a number of fields. There will be an exchange of personnel and research collaboration, in addition to curricula development, establishment of laboratories, and infrastructure strengthening. This program is expected to last about ten years with a major review in five years.
Research in 2009
1. KAIST has developed a research strategy that will help it become a leader in the fields of science and technology. This strategy consists of a two-pronged approach: (a) encourage and support Faculty-Initiated Individual Research (FIIR) and (b) undertake concentrated, multidisciplinary, system-scale projects in a few select areas. The most important means of supporting FIIR has been KAIST’s Fellowship, HRHR , and EEWS Programs. To balance FIIR projects, KAIST has supported multi-disciplinary group research through the KAIST Institutes (KI) and also the EEWS Program.
2. KAIST has also provided start-up funds to new faculty members for equipment and other scholarly activities (rather than using the funds to support graduate students, since many of our incoming students are provided with fellowships).
3. In basic research, our professors and students have made important advances in sciences (e.g., mathematics, biology, chemistry, and physics). In technological innovation, KAIST has developed many new processes and technologies (e.g., applied biochemistry, biochemical processing, robotics, On-Line Electric Vehicle (OLEV), Mobile Harbor (MH), semiconductor processing, IC design, electronic packaging, fuel cells, optics, propulsion, complex systems, ship insulation, nanotechnology, and many others). These research contributions will gain international recognition as their results become better known and widely used.
4. To promote research collaboration between KAIST and leading European universities, the Office of External Affairs organized a trip to Europe. Five professors, Dean Yong-Taek Im, two students, and I visited four leading European universities – Technical University of Denmark, Delft University of Science and Technology, RWTH Aachen University, and Ecole Polytechnic/
ParisTech. On this trip, Professors Jie-Oh Lee and Yong-Mahn Han presented their work in biological chemistry and stem-cell research, respectively, and Professors Joong-Myeon Bae, Kyung-Cheol Choi, and Otfried Cheong presented their work on fuel cells, displays, and combinatorial geometry, respectively. These visits clearly indicated that KAIST is at the forefront of science and technology.
5. The OLEV and MH Projects are large, multi-disciplinary R&D projects specially funded through the 2009 Supplementary Budget. The goal of the OLEV Project, headed by Professor Dong-Ho Cho, is to eliminate internal combustion engines in order to lower CO2 levels in the earth’s atmosphere and to also help Korea reduce its imports of fossil fuels. Many professors and research staff members (Professors Chun-Taek Rim, Joung-Ho Kim, In-Soo Suh, Yong-Hoon Jeong, Hang-Ki Lee, and others) have worked on this project. A company named OLEV&E Company was established by the KAIST Development Foundation to attract industry involvement and accelerate the commercialization process as stipulated by the government as part of the 2009 Supplementary Budget. CEO Chung-Goo Lee, the former CEO of Hyundai Motors, is heading this commercialization effort. KAIST has developed OLEV buses and cars that draw electric power and recharge a small battery system from underground cables without any mechanical contact to power electric motors. The efficiency of power transmission is over 72% and the electromagnetic force (EMF) is well below specifications. This system is being installed in Seoul Grand Park. We have filed for many patents.
6. The goal of the Mobile Harbor project is to create “moving harbors” that can load and unload containers to and from large container ships and deliver them to small as well as large harbors -- the central goal being to eliminate the need for large, deep-water harbors by making “mobile harbors” that can go out to ships moored in deep waters. The team headed by Professor Byung-Man Kwak has demonstrated the viability of the original technology. Many professors – Professors Yun-Sik Park, Jun-Ho Oh, Gyung-Jin Park, Taesik Lee, Soon-Heung Han, Soo-Hyun Kim, and others -- have contributed to this project. The CEO of the Mobile Harbor Corporation, Daniel C. S. Ahn, and his team directed the design of two large mobile harbors, which will be submitted for certification for commercial use. We have many patents filed.
(It should be noted that initially, the OLEV and MH projects were supported by the EEWS project, the HRHR Initiatives, and KI.)
7. The EEWS has funded 24 projects related to 10 critical topics in EEWS: Solar Energy, Photosynthesis and Carbon Capture & Storage, Fuel Cell, Bio Fuel, Battery and Green Car, Safe Nuclear Energy, Enhancing Energy Efficiency, Environment Monitoring and Recovery, Sustainable Manufacturing and Building, and EEWS Strategies.
8. A number of the KAIST Institutes (KI) have been gaining momentum. The KI for IT Convergence, which has a great number of faculty members from many disciplines, is conducting joint research projects. The KI for Design of Complex Systems has developed complex insulations systems for special-purpose large vessels. There are many other achievements that will be noted in a more expanded report.
Merger
We have successfully merged ICU and KAIST to forge stronger programs in IT. This strengthened group at KAIST has initiated new research and education in IT. We also accepted the operational responsibility for the Korea Science Academy to foster creative and intelligent high school graduates, especially those interested in science and engineering.
Construction of New Buildings and Facilities
We are constructing several new buildings: the Chunghi and BJ Park KI Building for multidisciplinary research; the Pappalardo Medical Center; the Sports Complex; the International Center; an apartment complex for international faculty; and dormitories for students. We have also renovated many buildings (e.g., the student dining facilities). In addition to the seven new buildings under construction now, we will be building several new buildings: the Kim Byung-Ho IT building, the Second Chung Moon-Soul Building for Brain science and Engineering, and an Animal Facility. Construction will begin soon.
Faculty
1. As of December 2009, KAIST has 548 tenure-track professors and 322 non-tenure track professors. Of these, 39 are international faculty (including 20 Korean-Americans) and 34 are female. Our goal is to increase our international and female faculty to 20% each.
2. KAIST has appointed 56 outstanding new faculty members, including 15 international and 8 female members. The quality of these faculty members is exceptionally high. The search committees and department heads should be commended for an excellent recruiting job.
3. We have a truly outstanding faculty. Many members are known nationally and internationally for their contributions, and continue to receive awards for their work. Many of the young professors who recently joined KAIST are among the most outstanding scholars in their respective fields, showing much promise for KAIST’s future.
Students
1. In 2009, KAIST had 3,766 undergraduate students and 5,029 graduate students (2,456 MS candidates and 2,573 Ph.D. candidates). We have 289 more undergraduate students than we should have had, as these students have not completed all the requirements for their undergraduate degrees within the standard time frame. It is important that our students learn to complete their studies within the time allocated for their degrees, and for that matter, for any task. In order to encourage our graduate students to complete their formal academic training as soon as possible and assume long-term career paths, we have imposed a time limit for their tenure as graduate students.
2. To encourage students to finish their undergraduate studies in four years, we have instituted a tuition system that requires all students, regardless of GPA, to pay full tuition if they do not finish their undergraduate degrees within that time frame. MS students and Ph.D. students who do not finish their degree in two and five years, respectively, are also required to pay partial or full tuition.
The Pappalardo Medical Center
With the financial support of Chairman and Mrs. Neil Pappalardo, we are constructing the Pappalardo Medical Center. The purpose of the Pappalardo Medical Center is to provide primary care to KAIST family members -- students, staff, professors and their families. The Pappalardo Medical Center will be increasingly important as we have more members of the KAIST family who do not speak Korean. Thanks to the efforts of Professor Ook-Joon Yoo, Dean for the Graduate School for MD/PhD Program and the Director of the Center for Bio-Medical Research, the Pappalardo Medical Center will be dedicated in May 2010. Professor Yoo will soon be hiring medical and support staff for the medical center.
Meetings, Conferences, and Workshops
KAIST hosted many conferences and workshops in 2009, including the Second International Presidents Forum (IPF) and the International Workshop on EEWS. Hosting such events has served many important functions – increasing global visibility, teaching best practices, creating inter-personal connections, fostering financial support, and building good will throughout the world.
In Recognition of the Special Support of Government
Most of the new programs in education, research, and infrastructure construction described above have received strong budgetary support from the government. The top leaders of the Korean government have given us opportunities to explore bold new concepts in science and technology through the General Appropriation of the Budget and the special Supplementary Funding of 2009. We are grateful for their support. I am personally grateful to President M.B. Lee for his support of the OLEV and the Mobile Harbor Projects.
Awards and Achievements of the Faculty
Our colleagues have received many awards as follows:
- Professor Jung Woong RA is the recipient of the Korean Engineer Award.
- Professor Seong Hwan CHO won the Best Thesis Award from IEEE Transaction on Circuits & Systems.
- Professor Chang Hee LEE was elected as IEEE Fellow.
- Professor Seung Hyup YOO was awarded an Outstanding Poster Award at the 9th International Meeting on Information Display.
- Professor Kyung Cheol CHOI received Outstanding Poster Award at the 9th International Meeting on Information Display
- Professor Joung Ho KIM received Best Student Paper Award at the 18th Electrical Performance of Electronic Packaging and Systems.
- Professor Gun Woo MOON was awarded the Best Paper Prize at 2nd International Telecommunication Energy Conference.
- Professor Kwang Jo KIM received an Award from the President of Korea for his service in Information Security.
- Professor Kyu Young WHANG was elected as ACM Fellow.
- Professor Dong Man LEE received the Distinguished Service Award from Korea Internet & Security Agency.
- Professor Dong Jun KIM is the recipient of Microsoft Young Professorship Award.
- Professor Sung Eui YOON received the Distinguished Paper Award from Pacific Graphics Society.
- Professor Jae Hyuk HUH received the Distinguished Paper Award from Pacific Graphics Society.
- Professor Sue Bok MOON won the Female Scientist Award from Amore Pacific.
- Professor Byoung Kyu CHOI was awarded the Order of Merit for Science Technology (Ungbi Medal) as well as the Korean Engineer Award.
- Professor Ha Yong SHIN received Gahun Academic Award from Gahun Foundation for Science and Technology.
- Professor Hark HWANG is the recipient of Young Scientist Prize of the International Conference on IML 2009 and Symposium on GT/CM 2009.
- Professor Myung Suk KIM won the Korea Robot Award from the Minister of Knowledge Economy.
- Professor Sang Min BAE received Good Design Award.
- Professor Youn Kyung LIM is the recipient of Microsoft Young Professorship Award.
- Professor Hyeon Jeong SUK was awarded the Best Thesis Award of International Journal of Sensibility Engineering.
- Professor Sung-Chul SHIN was awarded the National Academy Sciences Award of 2009 by the National Academy of Sciences, Republic of Korea.
- Professor Wonho CHOE was awarded KSTAR Merit Award of 2009 by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology.
- Professor Kee Joo CHANG was named as the Fellow of 2009 by the American Physics Society.
- Professor Sangil OUM was awarded TJ Park Bessemer Science Scholarship.
- Professor Suh-Hyun CHOI was awarded Amore-Pacific Frontier Award.
- Professor Jinhyun PARK was awarded Sangsan Young Mathematician Award.
- Professor Hyotcherl IHEE was awarded Distinguished Lectureship Award by the Chemical Society of Japan.
- Professor Juhyoun KWAK was awarded Q.Won Choi Academic Award by the Korean Chemical Society.
- Professor Ryong RYOO was awarded Creative Knowledge Awards by KISTI.
- Professor Changyoung IM was awarded the Order of Service Merit, Red Stripes, from the government.
- Professor Tae Gwan PARK was awarded the Clemson Award from the Society for Biomaterials, USA, the highest honor in biomaterials research field in the world.
- Professor Tae Gwan PARK was also awarded the first Creative Knowledge Award from the KISTI, selected as one of most highly cited six Korean scientists for the past 10 years.
- Prof. Chulhee CHOI was awarded the Minister Prize for Excellence in University-Industry Cooperation from MEST, Korea (2009. 11. 5); Selected as one of the 60 best researchers in 2009 by the National Research Foundation, Korea.
- Prof. Jung Kyoon CHOI was awarded the TJ Park Bessemer Science Fellowship (Junior Faculty).
- Prof. Jong Chul YE was awarded the Best paper award, Korea Society of Human brain mapping conference (2009); A Winner of Recon Challenge, Data Sampling and Image Reconstruction, ISMRM Workshop Series (2009. 1); Invited Guest Editor for Special Issue of “Compressed Sensing Signal Processing,” Journal of Korea Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineer (KIEE).
- Prof. Young-Ho CHO was awarded the Grand Prize for Pre-CEO (DAEDEOK INNOPOLIS).
- Prof. Jaeseung JEONG was awarded the "2009 Young Global Leaders" selected by World Economic Forum (a.k.a. Davos Forum).
- Prof. Dongsup KIM was awarded the best performance in the SH3 section of the DREAM4 Peptide Recognition Prediction challenge.
- Prof. Hee-Seok LEE, Ji-Young YOON and Se-Hee HAN received Best Paper Award, the Knowledge Management Society of Korea.
- Prof. Tong-Suk KIM and Byoung-Kyu MIN (student) received the 3rd Financial News & KAFA Doctoral Student Dissertation Award.
- Professor Kwang-Woo PARK received Best Bank Management/ Investment Bank Award, Shinhan Bank & KAFA (Korean American Finance Association).
- Prof. Byung-Tae LEE and Chang-Woo SUH (student) received Excellence Paper Award, The Korea Society of Management Information Systems 2009.
- Prof. Su-Jin LEE received Best paper award (CM Division Best Empirical/Theoretical Paper Award), the Academy of Management Conference 2009.
- Prof. Steven JORDAN was awarded 1st place prize for the best paper award at the 2009 FMA Asian Conference, the CFA institute.
- Prof. Seung-Kyu RHEE received Excellence paper award, The Korea Production and Operation Management Society.
- Prof. Young-Gul KIM (7th), In-Goo HAN (12th) and Jae-Kyu LEE (19th) were ranked as High Impact IS Papers and Researchers in the Pacific Asia Region, AIS(Association for Information Systems).
- Prof. Jae-Min JUNG named as Best translator, The Korea Association for Broadcasting & Telecommunication Studies (KABS).
Gifts and Donations from Generous KAIST Supporters
KAIST has been extremely fortunate to receive generous financial support from many leaders, alumni, friends, and supporters. In just a few years, the number of donors has increased from a few hundred to over 3,000. In 2009, KAIST received major gifts from supporters: Chairman and Mrs. Byung-Ho Kim donated 30 billion won, Chairman and Mrs. Donald C.W. Kim of Hawaii donated US$1 million, Chairman Hui-Yul Bae of Japan provided a 1 billion won gift, alumnus Dr. Hyung-Kyu Im, President of Samsung, gave a second gift of 200 million won, and the family of Seung-Yul Chung donated 100 million won. There have also been many generous donors too numerous to list.
As we look ahead at fundraising goals, KAIST is still in need of 20 billion won to support its Sports Complex, after a generous donation of 5.6 billion won from Woori Bank and POSCO.
Board of Directors
The Board of Directors (BoD) is the governing body of KAIST. It sets the policies, approves appointments and the budget, and selects and appoints the President of KAIST. The support of the Board is essential in planning and executing KAIST programs.
The new chairman of the BoD is Dr. Moon-Soul Chung, the Board’s longest serving member. In 2009, joining the esteemed group, many outstanding leaders joined as new board members. New members include Mr. Donald C.W. Kim, the former Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the University of Hawaii and CEO of AMKOR A&E; Dr. Chong-Moon Lee, the Chairman of Ambex; Dr Byiung-Jun Park, the Founder and former CEO of MTL, Inc.; Dr. Geun-Chul Lyu, Professor Emeritus at Moscow Technological University; Attorney Joo-Myung Whang, the former Chairman of the Board of Trustees of ICU.
New Appointments in the Administration
Professor Minho Kang, a professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering, has been appointed as the Vice President in charge of the newly established IT Convergence Campus.
We have two new academic deans. Professor Dong Won Kim has been appointed Dean of the College of Cultural Science. Dean Kim, who received his Ph.D. from Harvard University, is a specialist in the history of science. He succeeded Dean Young-Hae Noh, who did an outstanding job leading the College for three years. Professor Ravi Kumar is the new Dean for the College of Business, succeeding Professor Byung-Hoon Ahn, who was the original founder of the College of Business in Seoul campus. Dean Kumar has a Ph.D. from Northwestern University and was formerly an Associate Dean at the University of Southern California.
Professor Do Kyung Kim, a professor of materials science, is now the Dean of Admissions, a newly created position.
Professor Dong-Ho Cho is the Director of the OLEV project. He is also the Director of KI for IT Convergence and the KT Chair Professor of Electrical Engineering.
Dr. Chung-Goo Lee has assumed the position of the CEO of the OLEV&E Company, which has the task of commercializing On-Line Electric Vehicles. He also has an appointment as a KAIST Distinguished Professor of Practice.
Professor Byung Man Kwak of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, is the Director of the Mobile Harbor project.
Dr. Daniel Choong-Seung Ahn was appointed to be the CEO of the Mobile Harbor Company, a unit set-up for the commercialization of Mobile Harbors. He also has an appointment as a KAIST Distinguished Professor of Practice.
A number of our colleagues assumed new functions for KAIST as well. They are as follows:
Professor Han, In-Goo – Senior Associate Dean, College of Business
Professor Kim, Bo-Won – Dean, KAIST Graduate School of Management
Professor Kim, Young-Gul – Associate Dean, College of Business
Professor Yang, Tae-Yong – Dean, Graduate School of Innovation and Technology Management
Professor Park, Chul-Soon – Head, Department of Information Communication Engineering
Professor Yoon, Wan-Chul – Head, Department of Knowledge Service Engineering,
Professor Lee, Duk-Joo – Head, Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Professor Kang Jeung-Koo – Head, Graduate School of EEWS
Professor Shin, Joong-Hoon – Head, Graduate School of NanoScience and Technology
Professor Joong-Myeon Bae – Director, KAIST Institute for Eco∙Energy
Professor Kim, Chul-Ho – Head, Intellectual Property Program
CY 2010 – Challenges and Opportunities
In 2010, we must continue to pursue the ultimate goal of making KAIST one of the best S&T universities in the world. This goal can be achieved through effective education and research. KAIST must offer educational programs that produce future leaders. The basic research done at KAIST should shape the future development of human knowledge and society, and the technologies developed at KAIST should be innovative enough to solve important problems in the 21st century. The plans of our colleges, departments, and KIs are attached in the Appendix. We should refine and modify them in 2010 with the ultimate goals of KAIST in mind.
Education in 2010 and beyond
In 2010, we should continue to improve our educational programs. We should further strengthen the Renaissance Ph.D. Program to be sure that KAIST produces engineers and scholars with advanced degrees, who can deal with both the design and analysis of complex systems. At the same time, we should strengthen undergraduate subjects that deal with design, following the successful development of the freshman design subject.
We should review our curricula to be sure that it is more codified, streamlined and simplified to make learning more effective and productive. It might benefit some students if we can teach them the essences of their chosen fields while providing enough flexibility for broad educational experiences and independent learning. Developing new subjects (or courses) is intellectually and physically demanding. Yet it is a necessary function of leading universities. We should recognize our major innovative contributions to education just as we do our innovative research.
Our students should finish their degrees within a reasonable period of time. Staying in school longer than necessary is a waste of both human talent and financial resources. Our students will find their true innate capabilities when they leave KAIST and pursue their careers. No one benefits by unnecessarily prolonging formal education. Certainly, the taxpayers should not be asked to bear the financial burden when a student is lax in fulfilling his or her share in the educational process.
KAIST should develop new educational materials, methods, aids and tools. The distance learning/teaching program – the Bridge Program initiated by Dean Kwang Hyung Lee to teach the high school students admitted to KAIST before they actually enroll at KAIST – is a good example of how modern IT can be used to increase the effectiveness and productivity of education.
Research – Basic Research
Basic research in science and engineering is the intellectual sustenance of research universities. Most basic research is often initiated and executed by individual professors, researchers, and students. They come up with ideas and seek answers to the problems posed. In addition to pursuing independent individual research, we must foster multi-disciplinary research at the interface between disciplines where rich intellectual issues and questions lie. KAIST as a leading research university must support the multi-disciplinary research conducted by a group of researchers from many disciplines. To achieve this goal, the KAIST Institutes (KIs) are providing both intellectual leadership and major new facilities. At this time, there are eight (8) KIs. They are concerned with energy, IT, nano-science, bio-science, environment, water, materials, and design. A new building is being constructed to better accommodate these activities.
We must constantly seek new ideas and problems that can yield rich intellectual dividends. Among the new multi-disciplinary subjects are brain research and high resolution MRIs.
Research -- Technology Innovation
At the opposite end of the research spectrum from basic research is technology innovation. A couple of major examples of technology innovation we have undertaken recently are the “on-line electric vehicle” and the “mobile harbor” projects. Another example is the new process of converting natural bio-products into polymers, which was the invention of Dean Sang-Yup Lee. We need to constantly probe new areas and problems that are ready for major technological innovations.
We have been asking how we can reduce the CO2 generation by jet engines and save 20% of the fuel consumed by current commercial airliners. While we have come up with a couple of ideas, nothing concrete had been developed. (Recently, other research has disclosed that a way of improving fuel efficiency of jet engines is to uncouple the speed of the fan from the compressor in turbojets. This shows that we have been probing the right questions.)
There are many other topics we could consider. We need major innovations in generating, handling, and using hydrogen. We also need new innovations in energy storage such as more efficient, lightweight batteries that can store and discharge electric energy at a much faster rate. We also need to develop medical diagnostic tools and systems for various heath related problems.
To encourage creative thinking and technology innovation, KAIST has been supporting HRHR (High Risk/ High Return) projects. We also have the EEWS funding to come up with major solutions for problems related to EEWS. KAIST faculty, staff and students should be encouraged to identify major problems that require technological innovations.
New KIs
In 2010, KAIST Institutes will consolidate, improve, and expand many of the programs we have initiated in 2009. We also hope to launch new multi-disciplinary units – the KAIST Institute for Theoretical Studies and the KAIST Institute for Brain Research. We should also consider closing down some of the existing KIs if they are no longer needed.
Globalization of KAIST Education
Other countries have approached us about transplanting our educational programs to their countries. This is in recognition of the fact that Korea’s rapid growth during the past three decades is in large part due to Korea’s high educational standards and strong universities.
Our new initiative with KUSTAR of Abu Dhabi should set an important milestone in expanding the global activities of KAIST and encouraging its growth.
Graduation Exercise
In February 2010, we are looking forward to holding graduation exercises in the new Sports Complex. This project was partially funded by Woori Bank and POSCO. This will surely reduce the anxiety level of Dean Kyung-Wook Paik, who is in charge of the graduation exercise, as in the past the Committee for Graduation Ceremony had to monitor the weather, as the ceremonies were held in KAIST’s outdoor amphitheater. We were fortunate that the weather cooperated the last few years, and we were pleased that President M.B. Lee delivered a memorable graduation address that was warmly received by our graduates and guests.
Construction
In May 2010, we will dedicate four new buildings, in addition to the Sports Complex: the Chunghi and BJ Park KI Building, the Pappalardo Medical Center, and the International Center. We are hoping that we will soon have a major donor for the Sports Complex as well.
We will also complete the new apartment complex for international faculty and two dormitories for students in 2010. These buildings will help in reduce the pressure for accommodation for faculty and students.
In 2010, KAIST will build several new buildings to accommodate new research and educational programs. We will build the Chung Moon-Soul Building II for Brain research and education, the Kim Byung-Ho IT Building, Animal Facility, and a new Natural Science Building. These buildings should be ready for occupancy in 2011. The new Kim Byung-Ho IT Convergence Center should incorporate futuristic IT technologies.
Several of our old buildings were built more than 20 years ago. They are in urgent need of complete remodeling and renovation. We are hoping to convince the government that these buildings should be completely renovated to reduce the endless repair costs that are currently being incurred to maintain the minimal functions of the buildings. The cost of the renovation is estimated to be 80 billion won.
Academic Programs by Colleges and Departments
Departments, colleges and programs have developed their own plans for 2010, which are attached to this report. These plans will be refined in 2010 once we have a firm budget from the government.
Finance and Budget
In the past, without a full-time CFO, KAIST’s sizable finances were challenging to administer. On January 1, 2010, Mr. Cho, Koog-Jun, with his deep experience in finance and banking, will become the first CFO of KAIST. He will oversee all aspects of finance, including the budget, outsourcing, and expenses associated with major projects.
A major concern for KAIST is the future of its government support. KAIST’s budget increased during the past three years because of the special funding of special projects such as the Globalization Project, the EEWS program, the WCU program, the OLEV Project, and the MH Project. However, KAIST’s base budget has not increased at a rate commensurate with its successful educational and research programs. In order to achieve its goals, KAIST must receive substantial increases in its base budget in the future.
Issues Related to Faculty
Our Five-Year Plan was based on the idea that the number of KAIST’s tenure-track faculty would grow to about 700, so that KAIST can be competitive with the best universities in the world. In the past three years, 150 new professors joined our faculty. Even with the merger of ICU and KAIST, we now have only about 550 tenure-track faculty members, far short of where we should be. During the next 10 years, about 34% of the faculty will retire, and in 15 years, about 54% of the faculty will retire. This high retirement number is a result of the faculty’s skewed age distribution, caused by the merger of relatively new institutions, i.e., KAIS, KIT, and ICU.
To overcome the problems associated with this loss of faculty, we must do the following two things: (a) extend the retirement age of some key faculty members and (b) add many more young professors and eminent scholars to the ranks of our faculty. Our current thinking is that we should extend the retirement age of about 15% of our faculty members to age 70, but careful planning is necessary to implement such a policy.
Sejong City
In January 2009 (well before the current controversy surrounding the relocation of the government), KAIST and the government signed an MOU, which stipulates that KAIST will purchase 490 thousand Pyung of land in Sejong City. Our plan is to establish a Research Hospital, the College of Life Science and Bioengineering, the Graduate School of Public Policy for Science and Technology, Research Centers for Green Technologies (OLEV, MH, and EEWS), an Apartment Complex for Faculty and Staff (for purchase), and a Convention Center for International Conferences. The government agency in charge of developing the city will be installing OLEV bus lines in the city.
The land we have agreed to purchase is adjacent to the widest section of Guem Gang River. It is a prime piece of real estate. KAIST will be able to establish a beautiful campus there, where our students and faculty can enjoy nature while pursuing scholarly and educational activities.
K-12 Education
As we recruit more faculty and staff from abroad, secondary education for their children will become an issue that must be addressed. Because an acceptable agreement with a local international school could not be arranged, we have decided to establish a K-12 school on the ICC campus. We hope to incorporate the school in 2010 and to begin to teach in 2011. Our K-12 school will be similar to the one started by Handong University.
We wish everyone a Happy New Year!
2010.01.07 View 23615 -
KAIST Wins Official Membership of ERCIS
The Center for Software Policy Study of KAIST has recently become the 20th official member of the European Research Center for Information Systems (ERCIS) by signing an agreement with the organization, university authorities said on Thursday (Oct. 22).
The ERCIS is a network of scientists who conduct cooperative research in the field of integrated information systems development and organizational design. The Center undertakes interdisciplinary research with the participation of computer scientists, business management experts and law scholars.
KAIST will seek to activate exchange of professors, research fellows and graduate students with ERCIS members, as well as implementing credit exchange and dual degree programs.
ERCIS, was first organized by the German state of North Rhine-Westfahlia, is currently managed by the University of Muenster, a global leader in the field of information systems and business administration. Joining the ERCIS are one university each from New Zealand, the Netherlands, Germany, Russia, Liechtenstein, the United States, Switzerland, Spain, Slovenia, Ireland, Britain, Austria, Italy, the Czech Republic, Poland, France, Finland and Australia.
KAIST"s Center for Software Policy Study is currently preparing for the establishment of a support system for developers of the mobile application software as part of the EUREKA project. Korea is playing a leading role in this project on the strength of its competitiveness in the mobile phone industry.
EUREKA is a pan-European intergovernmental network for market-oriented, industrial R&D aimed at enhancing European competitiveness through its support to businesses, research centers and universities who carry out pan-European projects to develop innovative products, processes and services.
2009.10.22 View 14308
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World Research University Heads Discuss Challenges in Global Financial Turmoil at 2009 International Presidential Forum in Seoul
Leaders of the world"s major research universities discussed the impact of the global economic crisis on institutions of higher learning and their research activities in particular and exchanged opinions and visions on ways to increase cooperation with governments and industry at a symposium organized by KAIST Monday (Sept. 21) at the Westin Chosun Hotel in Seoul.
More than 50 participants of the 2nd International Presidential Forum on Global Research Universities represented institutions in North America, Europe, Southeast Asia, Australia, China and Japan. They were joined by 20 presidents of Korean universities and two dozens of leaders from industry and the government.
Under the main subject of "Challenges to Global Research Universities," the international symposium proceeded in four panel sessions. The subjects of each session and their keynote speakers were:
-- "Institutional Management in Times of Financial Crisis" by Kurt Kutzler, President of Berlin Institute of Technology
-- "Innovations in Education & Research" by Brian Cantor, Vice Chancellor of University of York
-- "Globalization of Institutes of Higher Learning" by Gary Schuster, Provost and Executive Vice President of Georgia Institute of Technology
-- "The Roles of Government, University and Industry in Green Technology Development" by KAIST President Nam-Pyo Suh
KAIST President Suh expressed deep gratitude to all participants for their presentations focused on how universities weathered the difficulties from the economic turmoil and how they were continuing efforts for innovation in research and education. He observed that the 2009 International Presidential Forum was again most successful and productive after the first in 2008 and offered a precious opportunity for leaders of research universities to establish effective networking among their institutions.
"The world has witnessed a global financial turmoil of unseen magnitude and many nations are still struggling under the devastating impacts. While universities were no exception in facing economic turmoil, they have realized renewed pressures and expectations from their respective communities to provide answers to the great challenges,” he said in his welcoming remarks.
"The conference I am sure will have a far-reaching influence on the course our research universities will take to shoulder greater responsibilities for building a better future of the mankind."
Some of the participants in the 2009 International Presidential Forum came to KAIST’s Daejeon campus to take part in the EEWS (energy, environment, water and sustainability) workshop which was held on Tuesday, Sept. 22.
The Chronicle of Higher Learning, the Washington-based newspaper specializing in university education, reported from Seoul that the Forum revealed that, while American universities struggle amid the harshest economic climate in a generation, institutions in much of the rest of the world are sheltered from the fallout by strong government backing.
“Delegates to a conference of university presidents (in Seoul on Monday, Sept. 22) heard that colleges in Asia and Europe are pushing ahead with expansion plans – even as their U.S. counterparts cut back.
“The 2009 International Presidential Forum… was marked by a sharp divide in the tone set by European, Asian, and U.S. college leaders. The Americans often sounded a deeply gloomy note,” The Chronicle reported. “Never before has the impact been this bad,” the paper quoted Vishwanath Prasad, vice president for research and economic development at the University of North Texas, as saying.
On the other hand, Yves Poilane, vice president of the Paris Institute of Technology, said, according to The Chronicle, “The largely state financing of most European universities has so far acted as a shelter, and higher education remains a priority for both European and French Universities.”
The Korea Herald, published in Seoul, said in its Sept. 23 editorial:
“This week in Seoul, a symposium of leaders from international and Korean research universities heard top scholars and administrators reveal how their schools have suffered through the year under reduced government subsidies and private endowments which forced them to postpone various globalization schemes and cut down on research expenditures. Applications for master"s and Ph.D. programs declined while large percentages of graduates failed to find jobs.
“With their country showing a rapid pace of recovery, universities in Korea are in a better situation than many of their overseas counterparts, especially considering the substantial government outlays for research and development in "low carbon, green growth" projects that are largely dependent on research universities. The more the government seeks their direct contributions, the harder universities should try to increase transparency and accountability in the use of taxpayer money, so as not to betray the nation"s trust in them.
“In the wake of the global economic crisis, academia, government and industry find themselves in closer ties as they share new concepts of innovation and development in a common quest for growth. The tripartite cooperation has new significance in the recovery process. To achieve any development objectives, the other two partners must prioritize the funding of universities.”
2009.09.24 View 15244 -
Professor Jong Hyun Kim receives two awards from ASME
Professor Jong Hyun Kim, Bently & Muszynska Endowed Chair Professor in the Dept. of Nuclear and Quantum Engineering, KAIST, has recently received Dedicated Service Award from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). The award honors unusual dedicated voluntary service to ASME marked by outstanding performance, demonstrated effective leadership, and prolonged commitment. The award was bestowed on Professor Kim in recognition of his sustained and exemplary service, leadership, and contributions to ASME. While chairing the Heat Transfer Division of ASME, Professor Kim promoted industrial participation, broadened international exchanges, and spearheaded the initiative to institute the web-based conference organization that later became the standard tool for organizing all ASME conferences.
ASME has also announced that Professor Kim was selected to receive the Heat Transfer Memorial Award and will be honored at its winter annual meeting this November. This award is bestowed on individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the field of heat transfer through teaching, research, practice and design, or a combination of such activities. Professor Kim was selected in recognition of his exceptional and impactful contributions to industry through applied research and innovative applications of science, art, and technology of heat transfer and thermal engineering. In particular, he tackled some of the toughest critical technical issues of serious safety implications in nuclear industry. The results of his research over the past 35 years produced tangible and substantial economic benefits to energy and nuclear industry that are conservatively estimated to be in the range of a few hundred million dollars of cost savings.
Professor Kim is a Fellow of ASME. ASME is the world’s largest professional society for mechanical engineers with over 100,000 members.
2009.09.01 View 12528 -
KAIST College of Life Sciences and Bioengineering Signs MOU with Harvard
KAIST’s College of Life Sciences and Bioengineering recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Harvard University’s Center for Brain Science on July 20, which will allow for joint research and exchange in researchers between the two institutions.
Headed by Director Kenneth Blum, Harvard’s Center for Brain Science leads the world in brain-related research. The new MOU will allow for research cooperation, exchanges of professors, researchers, and students, joint usage of infrastructure and research materials, and finally, sharing of research assignments.
The Dean of the College of Life Sciences and Bioengineering Sang Yup Lee, who concerted efforts to form the MOU said, “This agreement will bring together two of the world’s leading brain-related research teams, and I hope that combining their expertise will bring great advances in brain science and engineering.
KAIST’s College of Life Science and Bioengineering, which is known for its creative interdisciplinary research, is producing exemplary research results in the field of brain science from its Biological Sciences and Bio and Brain Engineering departments.
In addition to cooperation with Harvard, KAIST has also formed partnerships with Emory University, Japan’s RIKEN Brain Institute, and Germany’s Max Planck Institute. Not only does it have a worldwide network pertaining to brain research, but KAIST has also engaged in cooperative research with prominent domestic institutions such as, Asan Medical Center, the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, the Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science, and the SK Corporation. Through these connections, KAIST has managed to lead in mutually cooperative brain interdisciplinary research.
2009.08.10 View 17691
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Monthly Chosun Publishes In-Depth Interview with KAIST President
Monthly Chosun Publishes In-Depth Interview with KAIST President
The Monthly Chosun published by Chosun Ilbo, one of the major newspapers in Korea, carried an in-depth interview with Nam-Pyo Suh, President of KAIST, in its April 2009 issue. Following is a translation of the article.
‘There’s No Good Golf Player among Famous MIT Professors’
By Kim Sung-dong and Lee Keun-pyung
Biographical Note: Born in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea, in 1936. Moved to the United States in 1954. Graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), earned M.S. from MIT, and Ph.D. from Carnegie Mellon University. Served with MIT as professor of mechanical engineering and chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering. Worked for four years as assistant director for engineering, the U.S. National Foundation of Science, from 1984. Appointed as president of KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology) in July 2006. Concurrently serves as director of the Presidential New Growth Engine Search Group. Dr. Suh has some 60 international patents to his name.
In Korea, KAIST President Suh Nam-pyo raised the torch of university reform. Since he took office at KAIST in July 2006, he initiated reform measures one after another. At the state-run university where all students were tuition-free, the new president required students to pay tuition in accordance with their academic records. For the faculty, he offered various incentives to stimulate competition and implemented a strict tenure screening system.
The waves of reform starting from KAIST spread to the whole university community in Korea. In 2007, he shocked the professors’ society by dropping 15, or more than a third of applicants, in tenure screening. The action broke the common concept of life employment in Korean universities.
This year, he rang an alarm bell to Korean society as a whole. For the 2010 academic year, the KAIST President announced an admission formula which denied any advantage of students who take the costly private teaching. KAIST will ask the principa1s of 1,000 high schools across the country to recommend one senior student each, select 300 from them through screening by admission officers, and finally admit 150 students or 16 to 18 of the total freshmen enrollment through meticulous interviews by professors.
He declared that the university from 2010 would not consider the scores from the nationwide mathematics and science tests, which have turned into a major item for university entrance screening. In-depth interview will be conducted in a way no one can prepare for it by taking courses at “hagwon” or private institutes. It was a bold measure to free students from the shackles of private teaching. Following the lead of KAIST, other universities decided to change their admission systems so that preparations at hagwon would be of little help in going to universities of choice.
The Monthly Chosun interviewed Dr. Suh on March 6, the day after KAIST announced its 2010 admission plan.
Monthly Chosun: The KAIST admission plan for 2010 that you announced yesterday can be the starting point of suppressing private teaching business in Korea.
Suh: It was a little too late. Private teaching is a big problem for the nation. It is a big problem that a half of the entire education cost in this nation goes to private teaching market.
MC: Many parents send their children overseas to escape from private teaching.
Suh: Recently I visited the University of Queensland of Australia. There I learned that some 7,000 Korean students were in the small university town. It was almost the same number as the entire KAIST enrollment. About 20 percent of University of Queensland students are from outside the country, giving the university a large income. Korean students form the largest group among the international students. They must have had many reasons to go there, but if the money spent on overseas study is used wisely here, the education environment in Korea would be greatly improved. Correcting such problems will take time.
MC: How long will it take to end private teaching in Korea?
Suh: Korea decides everything with examination. During the Joseon Kingdom, there was the Gwageo system, which is equivalent to the bureaucratic recruitment examination of today. Some pass the state test during the senior year at university, which means that they only prepared for the examination while attending university. Things will change, but it will take time. There are people who take advantage of the present situation.
We should judge the desirability of a present system by examining whether it fits the basic purpose of education. I can’t insist that the admission system we announced yesterday is the best, but at the moment it is the most desirable alternative. After 10 or 20 years when society will have changed, there may be different judgment.
MC: Do you mean KAIST’s 2010 admission plan is necessary for a change, even if not the best?
Suh: Yes. Without such an experiment, there will be no change. I should admit that it may be unreasonable to ask every high school to recommend just one student, although some schools are twice, three times bigger than others.
MC: Don’t you think gaps in the academic level between schools should be considered?
Suh: If we consider such factors too, the process will be too complicated. Anyway, we are to select 150 out of 1,000 and we are offering them chances which were absolutely unavailable in the past. We give them a chance and it is up to the students to be able to catch it or not. Opportunities should be offered equally to students from rural areas or from poor families.
MC: What about possible favoritism in the course of recommendation?
Suh: We may be cheated once but never again. If a high school principal fails to recommend a good student, it will leave a bad record in our database. At present, the database shows students from which science high school are doing well and those from which high school are negligent in study.
MC: You have database for science high schools and other special-purpose schools but not one for general high schools?
Suh: We will soon have the database for general high schools. We will be interviewing teachers too and the results will also be stored in the database. If recommended students from certain high schools prove unfit for study at KAIST, we will not accept students from those schools.
MC: You are not to give advantage to high scorers from nationwide mathematics and science contests. But we should recognize that such examinations stimulate students to study harder.
Suh: Science high schools in Korea maintain high standards of education. But everything deteriorates if it is left to go on in the same direction for a long time. Each system needs to be reviewed and corrected if any defect is found. The admission system we are going to implement will have to be corrected some time.
MC: What is the most desirable human character in your view as KAIST president?
Suh: People quite incorrectly believe that man learns everything from school. It is impossible because the world changes constantly and new knowledge is created in every minute. Education aims to produce persons who can identify problems, who can establish goals, who think and learn by themselves.
We at KAIST aim to produce the best people in the world of science and technology. When the best people lead, others follow. People who are accustomed to one-way teaching under professors can do well in the second position in a group but not as the leader. In the science and technology community, some people are able to identify problems and address them while some others do well only when they are put into a certain course of action. The Korean education system should try to produce more people of the former category. KAIST wants to find and educate this kind of people.
MC: You mean creative leaders?
Suh: Yes. There are fewer people who can lead than those who follow. KAIST attracts good students, has good facilities and good teachers, so we can produce creative leaders. In recruiting professors, we spot some attractive candidates whose resumes boast of degrees from prestigious universities and fine career experiences. But some are found unqualified through interviews. A good professor is one who can drive students to study by themselves with creative ideas of guidance. Finding such professors is not easy, but we are making progress.
MC: Have you found any drawbacks in screening students mainly through interviews?
Suh: Three professors interview 40 to 50 applicants in three days, 14 hours a day. By the afternoon of the third day, they are quite tired and find it extremely difficult to make a choice because students are mostly of high standards. Initially, they rather easily pick up the top group and the bottom group, and then they come to the hard phase of choosing from among those who are not much different from each other. It could be just a matter of luck sometimes.
MC: From your long teaching experience in the United States, what problems do you find in the examination systems in Korea?
Suh: When questions are difficult, they may have plural correct answers. The professor could have wanted to test how students think. In Korea, examiners demand testees to produce just one correct answer. There are many different ways to go to Busan from Seoul. We should teach students how to think by themselves. At KAIST, we teach freshmen students design as a compulsory course. In design class, students are given varied questions with varied answers and they are taught how to find good solutions. Perhaps, KAIST is the only university in the world that has the design course for freshmen.
MC: Design sounds like something related to fashion in search of beauty. What is the concept of design taught in KAIST?
Suh: Design was the first thing I did at KAIST for its reform. When I came to KAIST, I set the goal of making it the best S&T university in the world. I drew up nine action plans for the goal and each plan has various practical tasks. My colleagues at the university are each given a task and I oversee how they fulfill their responsibilities. As professors and staff members develop their own ways of performing their tasks, an operation system is designed at KAIST. It must be more or less same with the mass media. Who should do what task and assume responsibilities under what process, this is the system design.
MC: Then the national reconstruction project is a big design.
Suh: A nation needs a good design to be prosperous. The president should be a good designer.
MC: KAIST formally merged with the Information and Communications University (ICU) a few days ago. What is the expected effect of the merger of the two state-run universities?
Suh: The primary merit is that the merger created critical mass that provides the momentum for self-sustaining and further growth which requires certain size. In the area of information technology, KAIST has about 90 professors and ICU has 46 while our competitor universities have an IT faculty of 200 or so. We need some 50 more professors to be really competitive in the area of information technology. MIT has 100 professors in the faculty of biology while KAIST has a little more than 20. To improve the situation, I proposed to the Korea Research Institute of Biology and Bioengineering (KRIBB) which is located next to KAIST to conduct joint research. But there were people who opposed it, and I still don’t know why they opposed it.
MC: Was it a joint research, not merger that you proposed to the KRIBB?
Suh: At first, we proposed three options: merger, joint research and individual-level exchanges. But nothing happened despite the great advantage of adjoining locations. In the Daedeok Science Complex, there are too many small research institutes and critical mass is hard to achieve. They are so much specialized that only experts in the same field mingle among themselves and make little contact with people of other scientific fields. Without contact with outsiders, no great new ideas can be produced. I am not a mathematician, nor a physicist but a mechanical engineer. Yet, I believe when biologists and physicists collaborate with engineers, when they seek a fusion of their capabilities, better results can be achieved.
MC: Is it the reason why KAIST established the College of Cultural Science?
Suh: Yes. The idea is to put science and technology into culture and culture into science and technology. Some want to put science into culture while others insist that culture should be put into science and there is tension between the two opinions. But this kind of tension is a good thing because it is a creative tension which can produce good ideas.
MC: But the president should make a final decision.
Suh: I take part in the process but decision is to be made by professors and departments concerned. I am not an expert although I offer my own ideas.
MC: Do professors follow you when you make a point?
Suh: I don’t like people to follow me right away. The university will not do well if all professors just follow what the president says. I want professors to make a decision after considering my suggestion. KAIST has a department-centered operation system. Department chairs are the real boss. This system has resulted in tenured professors in their thirties and professors in their fifties without tenure.
MC: It is likely that the tenure screening has caused dissatisfactions from faculty members.
Suh: Yes. Whoever passed the tenure screening believe we have the best system and those who failed believe that the system is worst.
MC: President Lee Myung-bak attended the 2009 commencement ceremony. Have you had any opportunities to establish personal relationship?
Suh: No. I met him for the first time when he visited Daejeon as a presidential candidate. People here suggested that I discuss with him national investment in science and technology but I declined. There was too much pressure because KAIST budget would be directly affected, and the vice president made presentation.
I have met President Lee a few times through the National Science Commission. In conversations with the president, I found common thinking between us. He agreed to me when I spoke about developing electric cars and the mobile harbor, but officials at government ministries do not understand me.
MC: Did you accept the directorship of the New Growth Engine Search Group at the request of President Lee?
Suh: The Knowledge and Economy Ministry asked me to take the post. Through this public service, I have been acquainted with many people who have helped me a lot. I don’t know if I made any contribution to the Group but I am sure I benefited a lot from it.
MC: What contribution do you think KAIST can make to the development of new growth engine industry?
Suh: Most important is developing original technologies. Institutions like KAIST should be able to develop many original technologies that Korea can sell overseas. The mobile harbor and electric cars are very promising projects in this regard.
(The “mobile harbor” being developed by KAIST is a marine transportation system capable of loading and unloading cargo with a ship being at anchor in the sea far from the shore in a situation of congestion. Equipped with a self-propulsion apparatus and a loading/unloading system, the mobile harbor comes to ships far from the land to handle cargoes.)
MC: Is the mobile harbor project to receive government support?
Suh: We are trying to get government funding for it. Some in the government are in favor while some others are desperately against it for reasons that I don’t know.
MC: What about the “online electric car” KAIST developed?
Suh: It is a very important project which promises to resolve the problems of high energy cost and air pollution. It is most suitable for cities like Seoul but there are people who oppose its commercial production.
MC: President Lee had a test-riding in the online electric car, but government support has not been decided yet. Why?
Suh: I can’t understand it. We are seeing a project stalled by the rejection of some section chiefs even though the president endorsed it. These opponents are not scientists. Previously developed electric cars need big batteries while the KAIST model requires a small battery. I am confident that the better product always beats the worse one, the more efficient technology emerges as the winner at the end.
MC: When do you think can KAIST overtake MIT where you belonged?
Suh: Within 10 years, I believe. Let me tell you this. KAIST established the Department of Marine Systems this year, but MIT has abolished its marine systems department. They only taught how to build ships for a long time so students did not apply and the department has been merged with the mechanical engineering department. At KAIST, we teach mobile harbor as well as shipbuilding at the new marine systems department. We are behind in some areas but we are ahead in many others. I am sure we can overtake MIT in about 10 years.
MC: Are donations to the university made smoothly?
Suh: We received 70 billion won ($60 million) last year and we are optimistic about attaining the goal of 1 trillion won in donations.
MC: What is the most difficult problem in collecting donations?
Suh: It is not easy for a man of my age to go about asking people to donate money that they earned in hard way. But it has to be done to operate the university.
MC: You are said to be a Korean-born scientist closest to receiving the Nobel Prize.
Suh: I am not a scientist but an engineer and I not at all interested in the Nobel Prize or anything like that. If one endeavors to contribute to society with research, prizes come to him.
MC: How is the prospect of Korean scientists winning the Nobel Prize?
Suh: I am positive. There are many young professors in Korea who are engaged in very interesting research projects. But what is important is globalizing their research efforts, by competing and collaborating with top-notch scientists of the world.
MC: How do you compare the cultures and climates of academic communities in the United States and Korea?
Suh: Famous U.S. professors I know are real workaholics. They devote themselves to research and are interested in little else. A university develops when it has many such professors. I want to make a point that there are few avid golfers among famous professors at MIT. They have no time to spend on the golf course. I see many good golf players among professors in Korea.
MC: Do Korean professors cooperate well among themselves in research?
Suh: What I realized first upon returning to Korea was that professors rarely discuss their academic matters in private conversations. They discuss everything but their own research work. This was something I found different from what I had witnessed in the United States where professors openly exchange ideas about their academic fields. What we need in the academic society is opening our hearts about what we are working on and what we have achieved. New ideas evolve in the course of such interactions. I’m inspired these days as I find younger professors gradually show such attitudes.
MC: What was the most difficult part in your reform efforts at KAIST?
Suh: Persuading people was of course the most difficult part. I explained to professors the purpose of changing the existing system and tried to win their consent on the process to achieve our objectives. But I was not able to persuade them all. Perhaps about half must still believe that the past system is better. The common trait of people is that they judge something is good or bad based on whether they benefit from it or not.
MC: You went to the United States in the second year of high school in Seoul. Weren’t you hesitant to decide to come back to Korea after so many years?
Suh: It wasn’t an easy decision to pack up and come here. I had many things to do over there, which was the reason why I did not catch previous opportunities to return to Korea. Children and their education were big obstacles in the past. But this time I just made up my mind and now I realize that it was a good decision.
MC: Did you believe it was the last opportunity to serve your motherland?
Suh: It is too much to say so. I am trying a lot but I don’t know if I am of any help to the country.
2009.04.23 View 14487
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KAIST, Microsoft Research to Set up Research Collaboration Center
KAIST, Korea"s premier institution for science and technology research and education, and Microsoft Research (MSR), the research arm of Microsoft Corp, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to establish a joint research collaboration center in Korea on Oct. 20.
The research collaboration center to be located at the KAIST campus in the Daedeok science and technology town 150 kilometers south of Seoul will be dedicated to promoting joint researches, curriculum innovation, talent fostering and academic exchange in the Asian region.
The MOU signing ceremony at the Westin Chosun Hotel in Seoul was attended by President Nam-Pyo Suh and Vice President Soon-Heung Chang from KAIST, and Craig Mundie, Chief Research and Strategy Officer of Microsoft Corp, and Hsiao-Wuen Hon, Managing Director of MSR Asia from Microsoft.
“We are excited to be working so closely with Microsoft Research,” KAIST President Suh said. “This is the first of many alliances we hope to establish with the world’s industrial leaders that will enable us to resolve some of the toughest problems in computer science and accelerate the next generation of innovation in computing technology and its application in other scientific researches.”
Dr. Hon said: “For over 10 years, Microsoft Research has been committed to working with leading universities throughout Asia to spur computer science research and to strengthen Asia’s knowledge economies by helping foster their capabilities. The Microsoft-KAIST Research Collaboration Center demonstrates our continued efforts to strengthen relations with universities in Korea and build new partnerships with academia here.”
In the last three years, Microsoft Research and KAIST have engaged in close collaboration through research projects, student support programs, and various academic exchange activities. One of the major projects was to construct software development library specifically dedicated to systems biology. A number of excellent students from KAIST participated in the internship program at Microsoft Research in Beijing, China and Redmond, United States.
The establishment of the Microsoft-KAIST research collaboration center will bring the collaborative relations between KAIST and MSR to a new level. The center will provide a platform which unites the innovative minds of KAIST and Microsoft Research to develop technologies that will impact the way people live, learn, work, and play, a KAIST spokesman said.
2008.10.30 View 18296 -
Research University Presidents Discuss Global Network to Increase Cooperation
Presidents and leaders of research universities participating in the 2008 International Presidential Forum on Global Research Universities (IPFGRU) held at the Westin Chosun Hotel in Seoul, Korea on Sept. 8, 2008 exchanged views and ideas on how to build and effectively utilize a global research network in order to increase cooperation and exchanges among institutions of science and technology across the world.
The participants agreed on the need to promote the sharing of expertise and facilities, conduct joint researches and positively implement dual degree, roaming professorship and other programs that help institutions in societies at different stages of scientific and technological development maximize the fruits of their research activities.
As a major goal, the participants agreed to create alliances for research and education that can become a new paradigm for global cooperation, with the outcome of discussions at the 2008 IPFGRU providing the guidelines for future endeavors in this direction.
Through the day-long symposium, participants reached general agreements on the following points:
--The concept of sharing faculty or roaming professorship should be actively promoted in order to accelerate global dissemination of academic expertise with the institutions and state authorities concerned easing existing restrictions to such arrangements and ensuring maximum academic freedom of professors involved.
--Dual degree programs especially those involving institutions of different countries need to be further encouraged in view of their benefits of resources sharing, expansion of knowledge and cultural exchanges and that educational authorities should try to remove various forms of limitations.
--As competitions over university ranking would grow intensive as institutions seek to attract better students and more donations, there is need to institutionalize a fairer, globally recognized national, regional and international assessment systems.
--In view of rapid expansion of interdisciplinary researches which calls for the sharing of facilities and expertise among different institutions, it is necessary to establish national or regional hubs to make state-of-the-art facilities and equipment available for researchers and research programs experiencing limitations in financial and material resources.
--National governments and political leaders should better recognize the importance of science and technology for societal and global prosperity and the science and technology community needs to make more communicative approaches to politicians so that greater trust may be built between them.
--Arrangements to conduct joint research involving international industries, academia and government should be accelerated with a view to addressing the common problems facing the mankind in the 21st century, including energy, environment, water, food and sustainability. The United Nations and other international organizations need to provide stronger support for research universities’ efforts in this direction.
--Research universities across the world should make concerted efforts to establish a global cooperative network that can facilitate the flow of information, resources and research personnel to realize universal advancement of science and technology and, ultimately, enhance the quality of human life.
Keynote speakers and panelists and the subjects of their presentations were:
Participants" List
Topic
Name of University
Speaker
Position
1. Roaming Professorships: To Whose Benefit?
Illinois Institute of Technology
John L. Anderson
President
Improving the Competitiveness of Global University Education
National University of Sciences and Technology
Muhammad Mushtaq
Pro-Rector
Improving the Competitiveness of Global University Education
Tianjin University
Fuling Yang
Director of International Cooperation Office
Sharing Differences in Culture and Environment for Sustainable Education for the Future Generation
Kumamoto University
Tatsuro Sakimoto
President
Sharing Differences in Culture and Environment for Sustainable Education for the Future Generation
Odessa National I. I. Mechnikov University
Sergiy Skorokhod
Vice Rector for International Cooperation
Promoting Science and Engineering Education among Secondary Students
Czech Technical University of Prague
Miroslav Vlcek
Vice Rector
Promoting Science and Engineering Education among Secondary Students
South China University of Technology
Xueqing Qiu
Vice President
Preserving and Utilizing Expert Knowledge for Better Education
Eotvos Loran University
Jösef Nemes-Nagy
Vice Dean
2. Dual Degree Programs: Future Potential & Challenges
University of Queensland
Paul Greenfield
President and Vice Chancellor
Benefits of Dual Degree Program
Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Lyon
Martin Raynaud
Director, International Relations
Benefits and Limitations of Dual Degree Program
National Institute of Development Administration
Pradit Wanarat
Vice President for Academic Affairs
The Role of Dual Degree Program Easing Brain Drain
Nanyang Technological University
Lam Khin Yong
Associate Provost, Graduate Education & Special Projects
International Dual Degree Programs and Strategies
Georgia Institute of Technology
Steven W. McLaughlin
Vice Provost, International Initiatives
Dual Degree Program and Global Learning Networks
City University of Hong Kong
Richard Yan-Ki Ho
Special Advisor to the President
Raising International IQs of Scientists and Engineers for Global Enterprise
Technion, Israel Institute of Technology
Moshe Shpitalni
Dean,
Graduate Studies
Luncheon Speech
“Beneficial Relationships between Academia and Companies”
Medical Information Technology
A. Neil Pappalardo
Chairman and CEO
3. Sharing Facilities and Expertise
KAIST
Nam Pyo Suh
President
Promoting International Sharing of Research Facilities and Expertise to Strengthen Research Outcomes
Griffith University
Ian O"Connor
President
Economic Benefits of Sharing Research Facilities and Expertise
POSTECH
Sunggi Baik
President
Economic Benefits of Sharing Facilities and Expertise: National NanoFab Center
National NanoFab Center
Hee Chul Lee
President
Communicating Science and Technology to Political Leaders
Office of the President of KOREA
Chan Mo Park
Special Advisor to the President for Science and Technology
Filling the Gap of University Resources
Bandung Institute of Technology
Djoko Santoso
Rector
4. An Approach to Joint Research Ventures with NASA
NASA
Yvonne Pendleton
Deputy Associate Center Director
Benefits of International Joint Venture Research Projects
University of Adelaide
Martyn J. Evans
Director, Community Engagement
Benefits of International Joint Projects
Mahidol University
Sansanee Chaiyaroj
Vice President
International Joint Research Projects
University of Iowa
P. Barry Butler
Dean, College of Engineering
Joint Research: University of Technology Malaysia’s Experience at National and International Level
University Technology of Malaysia
Tan Sri Mohd Ghazali
Vice-Chancellor
Sharing Intellectual Property Rights
Paris Institute of Technology
Cyrille van Effenterre
President
Global Economic and Social Contribution of International Joint Project Cooperation
Kyushu University
Wataru Koterayama
Vice President
5. Globalization through Interfacing with Existing Networking
Technical University of Denmark
Lars Pallesen
Rector
Establishing Global Science and Technology Networking
National Cheng Kung University
Da Hsuan Feng
Senior Executive Vice President
Establishing Global Science and Technology Networking
University of Technology of Troyes
Christian Lerminiaux
President
The Role of Global Science and Technology Network for Higher Education in the 21st Century
Iowa State University
Tom I-P. Shih
Department Chair
Regionalized or Globalized Science and Technology Networking
Babes-Bolyai University
Calin Baciu
Dean, Faculty of Environmental Sciences
Globalized Science and Technology Networking
Harbin Institute of Technology
Shuguo Wang
President
Connecting Regional Science and Technology Networks for the Global Networking
Ritsumeikan University
Sadao
Kawamura
Special Aide
to the Chancellor
How Can a Publisher Strengthen the Global Network of Universities?
Elsevier
Youngsuk Chi
Vice Chairman
2008.09.18 View 22958
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KAIST, KARI to Conduct Joint Research, Exchange Tech Manpower
KAIST and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) have agreed to conduct joint researches and exchange technical personnel in order to spur research activities on artificial satellite and other aerospace technology, KAIST announced Wednesday, Sept. 17.
An MOU was signed in a ceremony at the KARI Tuesday, attended by senior officials of the two institutions which both are located in the Daedeok Technopolis in Daejeon City.
Researchers from KARI will participate in KAIST"s interdisciplinary project of "Space Exploratory Engineering" and the two organizations will also jointly take part in the International Lunar Network (ILN), an international moon exploration program, to accelerate development of space technology in Korea.
As a result of the tieup, Dr. Lee So-yeon, Korea"s first astronaut who lived in space for a week aboard a Russian spacecraft this year, will be able to teach and conduct research at KAIST as an adjunct professor. Lee earned her doctorate from KAIST.
2008.09.17 View 16090 -
KAIST to hold 2008 Int
KAIST, Korea"s premier science and technology research university, will hold the 1st International Presidential Forum on Global Research Universities at the Westin Chosun Hotel in Seoul on Sept. 8, 2008. Presidents of research universities in all regions of the world have been invited to the conference aimed primarily at identifying common issues and opportunities in strengthening globalization of higher education and research.
Participants in the forum will exchange views and ideas on how to build and utilize global research network to promote the sharing of expertise and facilities, conduct joint researches and effectively implement dual degree and roaming professorship programs.
KAIST President Dr. Nam P. Suh said of the purpose of the conference: "Research universities have become global enterprises. Collaborations that were once primarily between individual researchers are now increasingly occurring at institutional and international levels. Similarly, educating students which used to be the responsibility of a single university has now become a multi-institutional undertaking, involving many universities in different countries.
"Now leading research universities in many countries depend on the continuous supply of outstanding graduate students form the "feeder" schools of developing nations. There are concerns that the current system may not be serving the interest and need of some institutions, especially those in developing nations. This should be examined and understood to devise international mechanisms that can accentuate the positive aspects of globalization.
"Through this forum, we hope to forge an international network of universities that will strengthen the effort of individual universities and create alliances for research and education that can become a new paradigm for global collaboration."
Keynote presentations will be made on the following five major subjects: -- Roaming Professorship-- Dual Degree Program-- Sharing Facilities and Expertise-- Joint Research, and-- Globalization through Interfacing with Existing Networking
Leaders of the world"s major education and research institutions have been asked to lead panel discussions with their rich experiences in globalization programs.
Following the conference in Seoul, participants are invited to come to the KAIST campus in Daejeon, about 150 kilometers from Seoul, where a symposium on EEWS (environment, energy, water and sustainability) will be held to examine the progress in interdisciplinary research activities in these vital problems facing the mankind and look for a new direction in international collaboration.
Co-sponsors of the International Presidential Forum include the Dong-A Ilbo, a major national daily, and the Dong-A Science Magazine.
Message from KAIST President Suh:
Research universities have become global enterprises. Collaborations that were once primarily between individual researchers are now increasingly occurring at institutional and international levels. Similarly, educating students used to be the responsibility of a single university but has now become a multiinstitutional undertaking, involving many universities in different countries.
These changes are a consequence of globalization and integration of the world’s economy. Temporal andgeographical separations are no longer barriers to the collective generation and transfer of knowledge andenlightened education. It is also a natural response to the demand for educated workforce who can functionin any country.
Current globalization was preceded by the migration of graduate students who were seeking to fulfill theiraspirations for better education at the world’s leading universities. This international movement of studentshas benefited not only students but research universities as well. Now leading research universities in manycountries depend on the continuous supply of outstanding graduate students from the “feeder” schools ofdeveloping nations.
There are some concerns that the current system may not be serving the interest and need of some institutions,especially those in developing nations. This should be examined and understood to devise institutionalmechanisms that can accentuate the positive aspects of globalization.
The purpose of the International Forum of Research University Presidents, which will be held on Sept. 8 inSeoul, Korea, is to identify common issues and opportunities for research universities that further strengthenglobalization of higher education and research. Participants will hear diverse views and ideas and will learnfrom those who have been active in global education and research. Participants also will examine dualdegree programs that are already in place among many universities and the effective implementation of aglobal research network.
Through this process, we hope to forge an international network of universities that will strengthen the effortof individual universities and create alliances for research and education that can become a new paradigm forglobal collaboration.
Looking forward to meeting you in Seoul,
Prof. Nam P. SuhPresidentKAIST
Tentative Program(Theme: Global Science and Technology Networking)
Sept. 7, 2008, Sunday 17:00 - 18:30 RegistrationSept. 8, 2008, Monday09:00 - 09:10 Opening Ceremony09:10 - 09:40 I. Keynote Presentation: Roaming Professorship09:40 - 10:20 Panel Presentations:- Improving the competitiveness of global university education- Sharing differences in culture and environment for sustainable education for the future generation- Promoting science and engineering education among secondary students- Preserving and utilizing expert knowledge for better education10:20 - 10:40 Open Discussion10:40 - 11:00 Coffee Break11:00 - 11:30 II. Keynote Presentation: Dual Degree Program11:30 - 12:10 Panel Presentations:- Benefits of dual degree program- The role of dual degree program easing brain drain- Global branch campus or dual degree program?- Raising international IQs of scientists and engineers for global enterprises12:10 - 12:30 Open Discussion12:30 - 14:00 Luncheon14:00 - 14:30 III. Keynote Presentation: Sharing Facilities and Expertise14:30 - 15:10 Panel presentations:- How to spin off international joint ventures from the sharing of research facilities and expertise- Economic benefits of sharing research facilities and expertise- How to communicate science and technology agenda to political leaders- Easing the gap between the developed and less developed regions through science and technology cooperation15:10 - 15:30 Open Discussion15:30 - 16:00 IV. Keynote Presentation: Joint Research16:00 - 16:40 Panel Presentations:- Benefits of international joint project- Ways to formulate the international joint projects- Sharing intellectual property rights- Global economic and social contributions of international joint project cooperation16:40 - 17:00 Open Discussion17:00 - 17:30 Coffee Break17:30 - 18:00 V. Keynote Presentation: Globalization through Interfacing with Existing Networking18:00 - 18:40 Panel Presentations:- Establishing global science and technology networking- The role of global science and technology networking for the higher education of the next century- Regionalized or globalized science and technology networking- Connecting regional science and technology networks for the global networking18:40 - 19:00 Open Discussion19:00 - 19:15 Closing Remarks by President Suh19:15 - 21:30 Banquet
Venue: Westin Chosun Hotel, Seoul
2008.07.17 View 20251
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KAIST, CT&T Develop Multi-Energy Hybrid Electric Car
KAIST exchanged a memorandum of understanding for the development and production of a multi-energy plug-in hybrid electric car (ME-PHEV) with CT&T, an electric car maker, on Monday (June 30).
The ME-PHEV is a new vehicle model incorporating a small electric generator and solar energy as power source with conventional plug-in hybrid electric vehicle with rechargeable batteries. The new vehicle has been jointly developed by a research team led by Profs. Soon-Heung Chang and Yong-Hoon Chung, at the department of nuclear and quantum engineering, KAIST, and CT&T.
The ME-PHEV features an increased mileage, improved battery durability and better passenger convenience compared to conventional hybrid vehicles. The joint developers have applied for domestic and international patents.
Prior to the MOU signing ceremony, Prof. Chang, who is also a vice president of KAIST, had a trial ride of the vehicle for the media at the KAIST campus.
"Major car makers of the world currently focus on developing hybrid electric vehicles with battery and internal combustion engine. Compared to these cars, the ME-PHEV offers advantage in terms of reduced air pollution and lowered production costs," said Prof. Chang.
Under the agreement, CT&T will put the features of ME-PHEV into e-Zone, the company"s city-class, low-speed electric vehicle model, with a schedule go into commercial production of the car next year.
2008.07.02 View 16709