KAIST

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Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
한국과학기술원
KAIST logo.svg
Type Public
Established 1971
President Shin, Sung-chul
Academic staff
 1,140[1] (2013)
Administrative staff
 322[2] (2008)
Students 10,249[1] (2013)
Undergraduates 4,047[1] (2013)
Postgraduates 6,202[1] (2013)
2,311[1] (2013)
Other students
 1,187[1] co-terminal MS/PhD (2013)
Location Yuseong, Daejeon, South Korea
Campus Urban
1,432,882 square metres (354.07 acres) (Daedeok Campus)[2]
413,346 square metres (102.14 acres) (Seoul Campus)
Affiliations AEARU, LAOTSE, AOTULE, ASPIRE League.
Website kaist.edu
KAIST logo small.svg
KAIST
Hangul 한국과학기술원 카이스트
Hanja 韓國科學技術院 / 카이스트
Revised Romanization Hanguk Gwahak Gisurwon / Kaiseuteu
McCune–Reischauer Han'guk Kwahak Kisurwŏn / Kaisŭt'ŭ

KAIST (formally the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology) is a public research university located in Daedeok Innopolis, Daejeon, South Korea. KAIST was established by the Korean government, with the help of American policymakers, in 1971 as the nation's first research-oriented science and engineering institution.[3] KAIST also has been internationally accredited in business education.[4] KAIST has approximately 10,200 full-time students and 1,140 faculty researchers and had a total budget of US$765 million in 2013, of which US$459 million was from research contracts.[1] From 1980 to 2008, the institute was known as the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. In 2008, the name was shortened to "KAIST".

In 2007 KAIST adopted dual degree programs with leading world universities to offer its students diverse educational opportunities and strengthen academic exchanges. Its partner institutions include the Technical University of Denmark,[5] Carnegie Mellon University,[6] the Georgia Institute of Technology,[7] Technical University of Berlin,[8] and the Technische Universität München.[9]

History[edit]

Korean representatives and Frederick E. Terman discuss the establishment of the institute.

The institute was founded in 1971 as the Korea Advanced Institute of Science (KAIS) by a loan of US$6 million (US$34 million[10] 2014) from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and supported by President Park Chung-Hee.[3] The institute's academic scheme was mainly designed by Frederick E. Terman, vice president of Stanford University, and Chung Geum-mo, a professor at the Polytechnic Institution of Brooklyn.[11] The institute's two main functions were to train advanced scientists and engineers and develop a structure of graduate education in the country. Research studies began by 1973 and undergraduates studied for bachelor's degrees by 1984.

In 1981 the government merged the Korean Advanced Institute of Science and the Korean Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) to form the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, or KAIST. Due to differing research philosophies, KIST and KAIST split in 1989. In the same year KAIST and the Korea Institute of Technology (KIT) combined and moved from Seoul to the Daedeok Science Town in Daejeon. The first act of President Suh upon his inauguration in July 2006 was to lay out the KAIST Development Plan. The ‘KAIST Development Five-Year Plan’ was finalized on February 5, 2007 by KAIST Steering Committee. The goals of KAIST set by Suh were to become one of the best science and technology universities in the world, and to become one of the top-10 universities by 2011. In January 2008, the university dropped its full name, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, and changed its official name to only KAIST.[12]

Timeline[edit]

February 16, 1971 Korea Advanced Institute of Science (KAIS), Hongneung Campus, Seoul is established
March 5, 1973 Candidates matriculate for master's degree
August 20, 1975 First commencement for the master's program
September 12, 1975 Candidates matriculate for doctorate degree
August 19, 1978 First commencement for the doctoral program
December 31, 1980 Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) is formed by merger with KIST
December 27, 1984 Korea Institute of Technology (KIT) is established in Daejeon, South Korea
March 28, 1986 First matriculation for undergraduates
June 12, 1989 KAIST and KIST separate, KAIST retains institution name
July 4, 1989 KAIST merges with KIT, relocates to Daejeon
December 17, 1990 First commencement for bachelor's degree students
October 1, 1996 Establishes Korea Institute of Advanced Study (KIAS)
May 4, 2004 Founds National Nanofab Center (NNFC)
January 1, 2008 Officially changes name to KAIST, replacing the spelled-out name
March 1, 2009 Acquires Information and Communications University (ICU), renaming it KAIST Information Technology Convergence Campus

Academics[edit]

Academics[edit]

A statue of Jang Young Sil, a Korean scientist, in front of science library, Daejeon campus

Admission to KAIST is based on overall grades, grades on math and science courses, recommendation letters from teachers, study plan, personal statements, and other data that show the excellence of potential students. It is Korea’s first test-free admissions system. In 2014, the acceptance rate for local students was 14.9%, and even lower for international students at 13.2%.[13]

Full scholarships are given to all students including international students in the bachelor, master and doctorate courses.[14] Doctoral students are given military-exemption benefits. In addition, many courses are provided in English. According to JoongAng Daily National Rankings, more than 80% of major courses taught at KAIST are conducted in English.

Governed by a special law, the university has an autonomous and flexible academic system. Other South Korean colleges and universities are required to abide by government-directed admissions and curriculum requirements. Undergraduate students can join the school through an “open major system” that allows students to take classes for three terms and then choose a discipline that suits their aptitude. In addition, undergraduate students are free to change their major anytime. KAIST has also produced many doctorates through the integrated master’s and doctoral program and early-completion system. Students must publish papers in internationally renowned academic journals for graduation.[15]

Students[edit]

KAIST produced a total of 48,398 alumni from 1975 to 2014, with 13,743 bachelor's, 24,776 master's, and 9,879 doctorate degree holders. As of October 2015, 11,354 students were enrolled in KAIST with 4,469 bachelor’s, 3,091 master’s, and 3,794 doctoral students.[16] More than 70 percent of KAIST undergraduates come from specialized science high schools.[citation needed] On average, about 600 international students from more than 70 different countries come to study at KAIST, making KAIST one of the most ethnically diverse universities in the country.

Organization[edit]

KAIST is organized into 6 colleges, 2 schools and 33 departments/divisions. KAIST also has three affiliated institutes including the Korea Institute of Advanced Study (KIAS), National NanoFab Center (NNFC), and Korea Science Academy (KSA).[17]

Campus[edit]

A view of the main campus
KAIST Main Library

KAIST has two campuses in Daejeon and one campus in Seoul. The university is mainly located in the Daedeok Science Town in the city of Daejeon, 150 kilometers south of the capital Seoul. Daedeok is also home to some 50 public and private research institutes, universities such as CNU and high-tech venture capital companies.

Most lectures, research activities, and housing services are located in the Daejeon main campus. It has a total of 29 dormitories. Twenty-three dormitories for male students and four dormitories for female students are located on the outskirts of the campus, and two apartments for married students are located outside the campus.

The Seoul campus is the home of the Business Faculty of the university. The graduate schools of finance, management and information & media management are located there. The total area of the Seoul campus is 413,346 m2 (4,449,220 sq ft).

The Munji campus, the former campus of Information and Communications University until its merge with KAIST, is located ca. 4 km (2.5 mi) away from the main campus. It has a total of two dormitories, one for undergraduate students and the other for graduate students. The Institute for Basic Science (IBS) Center for Axion and Precision Physics Research is located here doing particle and nuclear physics related to dark matter and the Rare Isotope Science Project has the Superconducting Radio Frequency test facility.

Main library[edit]

The KAIST main library was established in 1971 as KAIS library, and it went through a merge and separation process with KIST library. It merged with KIT in March 1990. A contemporary 5 story building was constructed as the main library, and it is being operated with an annex library. The library uses the American LC Classification Schedule.[18] The library is currently undergoing remodelling set to complete in 2018.

Research[edit]

Seven KAIST Institutes (KIs) have been set up: the KI for the BioCentury, the KI for Information Technology Convergence, the KI for the Design of Complex Systems, the KI for Entertainment Engineering, the KI for the NanoCentury, the KI for Eco-Energy, and the KI for Urban Space and Systems. Each KI is operated as an independent research center at the level of a college, receiving support in terms of finance and facilities. In terms of ownership of intellectual property rights, KAIST holds 2,694 domestic patents and 723 international patents so far.[19]

Electric vehicles[edit]

Researchers at KAIST have developed an electric transport system called Online Electric Vehicle (OLEV), where the vehicles get their power from cables underneath the surface of the road via non-contact magnetic charging (a power source is placed underneath the road surface and power is wirelessly picked up on the vehicle itself). As a possible solution to traffic congestion and to improve overall efficiency by minimizing air resistance and so reduce energy consumption, the test vehicles followed the power track in a convoy. In July 2009 the researchers successfully supplied up to 60% power to a bus over a gap of 12 cm (4.7 in) from a power line embedded in the ground using power supply and pick up technology developed in-house.[20]

Autonomous arms?[edit]

In February 2018 the Korea Times published an article which stated that KAIST was starting an AI weapons research project together with the Korean arms manufacturer Hanwa. This has led to researchers from 30 countries boycotting KAIST, which has denied existence of the program.[21]

Academic rankings[edit]

University rankings
Global
ARWU World[22] 201-300
Times World[24] 89
QS World[23] 40
Regional
QS Asia[25] 6

In 2016 and 2017 [26] Thomson Reuters named KAIST the sixth most innovative university in the world and the most innovative university in the Asia Pacific region.[27] In 2016/17 QS World University Rankings ranked KAIST 46th overall in the world and 6th within Asia, coming 13th in Material Sciences and 14th in Engineering and Technology.[28] In the 2009 THE-QS World University Rankings (in 2010 Times Higher Education World University Rankings and QS World University Rankings parted ways to produce separate rankings) for Engineering & IT, the University was placed 21st in the world and 1st in Korea[29] and was placed 69th overall.[30] KAIST was again recognized as a number one University in Korea by JoongAng Ilbo Review. In the year of 2009, KAIST's department of industrial design has also been listed in the top 30 Design Schools by Business Week.[31] KAIST ranked the best university in Republic of Korea and the 7th university in Asia in the Top 100 Asian Universities list, the first regional ranking issued by THE-QS World Rankings.[32][verification needed]

Times Higher Education ranked KAIST the 3rd best university in the world under the age of 50 years in its 2015 league table.[34]

Notable faculty and staff[edit]

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.

Notable alumni[edit]

Academia[edit]

Science and technology[edit]

Business[edit]

Entertainment[edit]

Notes and references[edit]

  • The Times-QS World University Rankings 2009 - KAIST 69th overall, 21st in the field of Engineering/Technology
  1. ^ a b c d e f g "KAIST Facts & Figures". KAIST Official Website. KAIST. Retrieved 30 June 2013. 
  2. ^ a b "KAIST General Information". KAIST Official Website. KAIST. Retrieved January 22, 2008. 
  3. ^ a b Park, Geunhong (21 April 2011). "The Advance of a Korean Institute: A Brief History of KAIST". herald.kaist.ac.kr. KAIST Herald. Retrieved 11 July 2013. 
  4. ^ http://www.business.kaist.edu/about/010301
  5. ^ "Technical University of Denmark and KAIST To Launch Dual Degree Program". Technical University of Denmark. Retrieved 29 May 2016. 
  6. ^ "Carnegie Mellon and KAIST To Launch Dual Degree Program in Civil and Environmental Engineering". cmu.edu. Carnegie Mellon University. 4 October 2007. Retrieved 27 June 2013. 
  7. ^ "GT-ECE/KAIST-EE Dual BS and MS Program". gatech.edu. Georgia Institute of Technology. 23 May 2012. Retrieved 27 June 2013. 
  8. ^ "Agreement on Dual Degree Master Program Between KAIST Department of Computer Science and Technische Universitat Berlin Fakultat fur Elektrotechnik und Informatik (Fakultat IV)" (PDF). eecs.tu-berlin.de. Retrieved 27 June 2013. 
  9. ^ "KAIST Goals and Strategies". KAIST.edu. KAIST. Archived from the original on 28 May 2010. Retrieved 27 June 2013. 
  10. ^ "The Inflation Calculator". Westegg.com. 11 July 2013. Retrieved 11 July 2013. 
  11. ^ "KAIST's history and vision". KAIST.edu. KAIST. Archived from the original on 12 October 2013. Retrieved 11 July 2013. 
  12. ^ 'KAIST' Decides Not to Use Original Full Name Archived 2011-07-18 at the Wayback Machine., KAIST announcement, January 10, 2008.
  13. ^ "International Acceptance Rate Falls". herald.kaist.ac.kr (in Korean). Retrieved 2017-05-30. 
  14. ^ KAIST. "Scholarship Types > Scholarships > Academics > Academics > KAIST". www.kaist.edu. Retrieved 2017-05-29. 
  15. ^ "Undergraduate". kaist.ac.kr. Retrieved August 17, 2016. 
  16. ^ KAIST. "Handbook > Life on Campus > KAIST". www.kaist.edu. Retrieved 2017-05-29. 
  17. ^ "About KAIST". www.kaist.edu. 20 June 2014. Retrieved 20 June 2014. 
  18. ^ "KAIST Library". www.kaist.ac.kr. 
  19. ^ KAIST Institute (KI)
  20. ^ "Korean electric vehicle solution". www.gizmag.com. 
  21. ^ 'Killer robots': AI experts call for boycott over lab at South Korea university The Guardian, 2018
  22. ^ Academic Ranking of World Universities 2017
  23. ^ QS World University Rankings 2019
  24. ^ World University Rankings 2018
  25. ^ QS Asian University Rankings 2016
  26. ^ https://www.reuters.com/www.reuters.com/article/us-asiapac-reuters-ranking-innovative-un-idUSKBN18Y24R
  27. ^ Ewalt, David (September 28, 2016). "The world's most innovative universities - 2016". reuters.com. Reuters. Retrieved March 22, 2016. 
  28. ^ "QS World University Rankings (2016/17)". 
  29. ^ "The Times - QS World University Rankings 2007 - Technology". Archived from the original on 2008-01-26. Retrieved 2008-02-01. 
  30. ^ "The Times-QS World University Rankings 2008". Retrieved 2008-10-19. 
  31. ^ "D-Schools: The Global List". Archived from the original on 2009-04-29. Retrieved 2008-12-13. 
  32. ^ In the Top 100 Asian Universities List, HKU won the first, KAIST 7th, SNU 8th(2009 아시아 대학평가 홍콩대 1위, 카이스트 7위, 서울대 8위) Archived 2009-05-15 at the Wayback Machine. Chosun Ilbo 2009.5.12. (조선일보 5월 12일)
  33. ^ "QS World University Rankings: KAIST Rankings". QS World University Rankings. Retrieved 28 May 2017. 
  34. ^ "Times Higher Education 100 Under 50 2015". timeshighereducation.co.uk. Thomson Reuters. 2015. Retrieved 29 November 2015. 
  35. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-12-20. Retrieved 2013-12-20. 

See also[edit]

External links[edit]

Coordinates: 36°22′19″N 127°21′47″E / 36.372°N 127.363°E / 36.372; 127.363

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