By Special Feature Editor Kim Hyung-dae
The University of Science and Technology (UST) held a ceremony to celebrate its 20th anniversary and unveiled its new name and vision at the auditorium of UST University Headquarters in Daejeon.
UST President Kim Yi-hwan delivers greetings at the 20th anniversary ceremony held at the UST University Headquarters Auditorium on Tuesday.
The ceremony was attended by Vice Minister of Science and ICT Cho Sung-kyung, Chairman of the National Science Foundation (NST) Kim Bok-chul, President of Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) Lim Ki-chul, Chairman of the Korea Research Foundation (KRF) Lee Kwang-bok, President of the Korea Biotechnology Research Institute (KBRI) Kim Jang-seong, and more than 50 key figures from the science and technology community, as well as UST alumni, current students, faculty, and staff.
At the event, UST unveiled its new name and declared its mid- to long-term vision. UST changed its name from University of Science and Technology to Korea National University of Science and Technology. It also declared a new vision of becoming the world's No. 1 national research university.
In addition, a total of 24 alumni, faculty, staff, and administrators were recognized for their 20th anniversary contributions, and six were awarded plaques of appreciation. The Minister of Science and ICT Commendation was awarded to Professor Ha Tae-yeol of UST-Korea Food Research Institute (KFRI) School and Dr. Lee Ju-han, an alumnus of UST-Korea Polar Research Institute (KOPRI) School.
The event also featured the inauguration of the second UST Alumni Association. Dr. Han Jung-yeol, a member of UST's first class, was inaugurated as the new president.
UST President Kim Yi-hwan said, "For 20 years since its establishment, UST has graduated 3,465 master's and doctoral talents in various fields of science and technology through the challenges, passion, and dedication of its internal and external members, and has played a role in enhancing R&D capabilities at home and abroad." "We ask for the continued encouragement and interest of our internal and external members so that we can grow into the Global No. 1 national research university that produces the best talents in the world."
The ceremony was also attended by Vice Minister of Science and ICT Cho Sung-kyung, Kim Bok-chul, chairman of the National Science Foundation (NST), Lee Kwang-bok, chairman of the Korea Research Foundation, and Kim Jang-sung, president of the Korea Biotechnology Institute.
In 2010, an interesting study was published in a prominent cancer journal. The caffeine in coffee inhibits the metastasis of brain cancer cells. The first author of the paper was Dr. Kyung-Seok Han, a graduate student at the University of Science and Technology (UST). Dr. Han later went on to MIT and Harvard before returning to Korea three years ago to become the first person in the world to show that nerve cells in the brain, which are known to interact only through synapses, a type of chemical connection, can also influence each other electrically. "UST has a research environment where you can do experiments as soon as you have an idea," said Dr. Han, who was appointed as a professor at Chungnam National University in recognition of his research achievements. "There are also many foreign researchers, so the international experience I learned from them was very helpful."
As UST celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, more and more graduates are taking to the lecture halls of universities. UST has graduated 3,465 master's and doctoral students so far. With 200 graduates per year, UST accounts for 1 percent of the more than 26,000 science and engineering graduates in South Korea each year. Over the past 20 years, the school has become a cradle of science and technology talent, with graduates entering universities, acting, and industry. To take a new leap forward, UST will change its name to 'National Research University (UST)' from March next year.
Unlike regular graduate schools, UST conducts courses and research at 30 government-funded research institutes. Performing researchers become UST "professors" and teach students, and students have the opportunity to conduct national research projects with other researchers at national research sites. "A high-resolution mass spectrometer costs about 700 million to 800 million won per unit, and it's a big advantage to have such expensive equipment at the institute, so we can expand the scope of our research," said Sejong University professor Lee Ga-kyung, who was hired immediately after graduating from UST and the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) last year.
The field-oriented training continues into the classroom. "There is an academic style of research that focuses on practical technologies that can be used in the industrial field, so there are many cases of industry-academia collaboration," said Lee Ah-hyun, a professor at Suncheon National University who graduated from UST and ETRI in 2016. "For this reason, when I become a professor at a regular university, I can give theoretical education and tell stories such as 'how this theory is applied in the field' or 'companies use it like this'."
Convergence research is made easier by meeting various researchers in the field. "To diagnose a virus, various disciplines such as biology, chemistry, and mechanics need to be connected, but there are mechanical researchers and chemical researchers around, so it is a good opportunity to develop vaccines or diagnostic devices through convergence," said Professor Na Sun-sung of Chonnam National University, who graduated from UST and the Korea Research Institute of Biotechnology (KRIBB) in 2015. "In general graduate schools, most labs are given a certain topic, but at UST, there are many young researchers who have done postdoctoral research abroad, so it is an advantage to know about the latest research topics and share various experiences."
The number of graduates going into acting is also increasing. As of late 2022, about 220 of the 2,267 Korean graduates were employed as full-time actors. The number of key positions in the industry is also increasing. "In a regular graduate school, the people you can learn from and ask questions to are your professors or lab seniors, but at UST, there are doctoral researchers in each field, so the process of asking questions and getting answers from them is the biggest difference from a regular graduate school," said Ko Eun-jin, a team leader in the Explorer Technology Department at the Korea Advanced Institute of Defense Science.
An example of a company that en
tered the industry through UST is KRIBB's startup, Zincore. Zincor CEO Kim Yong-sam has been a professor at UST since 2013, and Dr. Do-yeon Kim, who developed gene scissors technology under Kim's guidance at UST, is now the head of Zincor's research center. "In graduate school, coursework is important, but high-quality research experience is even more important, and this depends on research funding and research environment," said Kim. "In this regard, UST has the best research environment in Korea."
☞UST (University of Science and Technology)
A national research university authorized in 2003 to foster professional researchers to improve national competitiveness. Researchers from government-funded research institutes become professors and provide students with research-focused education.
The UST has recently held a ceremony to celebrate its 20th anniversary at UST's headquarters.
The ceremony was attended by Vice Minister of Science and ICT Cho Sung-kyung, Chairman of the National Science Foundation (NST) Kim Bok-chul, President of Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) Lim Ki-chul, Chairman of the Korea Research Foundation Lee Kwang-bok, President of the Korea Biotechnology Research Institute Kim Jang-sung, and more than 50 key figures from the science and technology community, as well as UST alumni, current students, faculty, and staff.
At the event, UST unveiled its new name and declared its mid- and long-term vision. UST has changed its name from 'University of Science and Technology' to 'Korea National University of Science and Technology'. It also announced a new vision (UST VISION2033 and Mid- to Long-Term Development Plan) to become the world's No. 1 national research university.
A total of 24 alumni, faculty, staff, and administrators were recognized for their 20th anniversary achievements, and six were awarded plaques of appreciation. The Minister of Science, ICT and Future Planning Award was presented to Prof. Tae-Yeol Ha of the UST-Korea Food Research Institute (KFRI) School and Dr. Lee Ju-Han, an alumnus of the UST-Korea Polar Research Institute (KOPRI) School.
Prof. Ha was recognized for his contributions to the development of UST through his outstanding teaching, establishment of the UST-KFRI School's academic system, and active participation in various UST committees.
Dr. Lee, who is currently the head of the Future Technology Development Department at the Polar Research Institute, was admitted to the first class of UST and made excellent achievements in his research field while at UST and established himself at his alma mater after graduation. He was recognized for his outstanding achievements, including contributions to the construction of the Antarctic Jangbogo Base and the development of advanced research equipment for polar exploration.