UNIST Graduate School of Artificial Intelligence Opens... Ushering in the 'Digital New Deal Era'

Opening Ceremony on the 19th at 2 PM in Room U110, 4th Engineering Building
Establishing a Hub for Advanced AI Talent Development and R&D in the Southeast Region

The Graduate School of Artificial Intelligence held its opening ceremony at UNIST on the afternoon of the 19th.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] The Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) Graduate School of Artificial Intelligence (AI), which will lead the ‘Digital New Deal’ in the southeastern region, has opened.

UNIST (President Lee Yong-hoon) held the ‘Graduate School of Artificial Intelligence Opening Ceremony’ at 2 p.m. on the 19th in Room U110 of the 4th Engineering Building.

The opening ceremony was an event to reaffirm the commitment to the successful promotion of the UNIST Graduate School of Artificial Intelligence project, which will lead the Digital New Deal in Ulsan and the southeastern region.

UNIST was newly selected in April for the national-level Graduate School of Artificial Intelligence support project promoted by the Ministry of Science and ICT to foster core advanced AI talents.

This project will receive up to 19 billion KRW in national funding over 10 years. Ulsan City will also support the AI innovation with 2.7 billion KRW in city funds by 2024.

The UNIST Graduate School of Artificial Intelligence set its vision as “a world-class AI graduate school contributing to the nation and the southeastern region” and recruited its first new students last September.

Each year, it selects about 50 new master's and doctoral students. These students are provided with various educational programs and the highest level of learning environment to nurture global leaders of world-class standards.

Dean No Sam-hyuk of the Graduate School of Artificial Intelligence said, “Our goal is to produce AI research results ranked in the world’s top 10 and companies valued at 1 billion USD,” adding, “We will gather talents who create innovation and lead industrial changes to stand tall as an AI graduate school attracting global attention.”

The Graduate School currently has 10 full-time professors and 12 adjunct professors. They possess excellent capabilities in core AI fields such as machine learning and computer vision, as well as AI application areas including semiconductors, manufacturing, mobility, and healthcare.

The Graduate School plans to expand its faculty to more than 40 members by 2024, including 16 full-time and 24 adjunct professors, and will hire new faculty members annually.

President Lee Yong-hoon said, “Ulsan, the center of Korea’s manufacturing industry, is a city where innovation using AI can have greater ripple effects than anywhere else,” and added, “I hope the Graduate School of Artificial Intelligence will lead digital innovation in Ulsan and the southeastern region.”

At the opening ceremony, Jang Seok-young, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science and ICT, emphasized the necessity of the ‘Data New Deal that turns crisis into opportunity’ in a special lecture. He said, “The Digital New Deal will be a stepping stone for our industry’s new leap forward,” and urged, “Please do your best to nurture talents who will lead the southeastern region and national economy at the UNIST Graduate School of Artificial Intelligence.”

Starting next year, UNIST plans to establish an ‘AI Innovation Park’ around the campus in Duwang-dong, Nam-gu, to share AI R&D achievements with local industries and spread innovation.

In fact, about 300 companies in the southeastern region have expressed their willingness to cooperate with the UNIST Graduate School of Artificial Intelligence, and active cooperation with these companies is expected.

Distinguished guests attending the event included Jang Seok-young, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science and ICT; Song Cheol-ho, Mayor of Ulsan; Park Byung-seok, Chairman of Ulsan City Council; Seok Je-beom, President of the Institute for Information & Communications Technology Planning & Evaluation (IITP); Jo Won-kyung, Deputy Mayor for Economy of Ulsan; Park Kyung-hwan, Vice President of SK Energy; Joo Won-ho, Vice President of Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering; and Baek Seung-myeon, Executive Director of LG Electronics. The event consisted of the opening ceremony, plaque presentation, and an exhibition of AI research achievements to date.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.