UNIST President Yong-Hoon Lee Appoints Former MIT Professor Nam-Pyo Suh as Advisory Committee Member

Discussion on 'Innovation and International Competence Enhancement of Research Universities' in Boston, USA on the 19th

Pursuing reforms in research, education, and internationalization aiming for "Top 100 Global Research Universities"

President Lee Yong-hoon of UNIST (left) and Professor Emeritus Seo Nam-pyo of MIT.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Dongguk Lee] UNIST has embarked on strengthening its global capabilities with the goal of becoming one of the "Top 100 Research-Oriented Universities in the World."

To this end, they met with Nam-Pyo Suh, Honorary Professor at MIT (former President of KAIST), who brought innovation to Korea's science and engineering fields.

They also visited the Chicago area and Kendall Square near Boston in the U.S., and participated in UKC 2022, conducting benchmarking for the construction of the Challenge Convergence Hall.

From August 16 to 21, UNIST President Yong-Hoon Lee attended the "UKC 2022 (2022 Korean-American Scientists Conference)" held in Washington, D.C., USA, to grasp trends in U.S. research and development and seek ideas for institutional innovation.

At 5 p.m. local time on the 19th, he visited MIT in Boston and proposed to Honorary Professor Nam-Pyo Suh the role of "Presidential Advisory Committee Member."

Honorary Professor Suh is renowned for revitalizing science and engineering universities through bold reforms, having served as Dean of MIT's School of Engineering and President of KAIST.

President Lee served as Vice President during Professor Suh's tenure as KAIST President, jointly leading KAIST's innovation.

President Lee plans to apply Professor Suh's "innovation DNA" to UNIST to promote institutional innovation and capability enhancement.

In particular, Professor Suh's international network is expected to greatly aid UNIST's global capability enhancement.

President Lee said, "Honorary Professor Nam-Pyo Suh has a very strong international network," adding, "Through his activities at MIT, the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), and his roles as a board member at overseas universities, he will provide great assistance to UNIST."

Celebrating its 13th anniversary this year, UNIST is rapidly growing and establishing itself as a world-class research-oriented university.

President Lee believes it is now time to increase its presence on the global stage, promote various international collaborations, and expand its influence.

The goal is to act as a "First Mover" in developing cutting-edge technologies and to be active in the global science and technology community. To this end, UNIST has set a goal to become one of the "Top 100 Research-Oriented Universities in the World by 2027."

President Lee stated, "It is difficult to become one of the 'Top 100 Research-Oriented Universities' by maintaining the current level of international cooperation," adding, "In line with the goal of being a First Mover, we plan to promote various international cooperation projects such as exchange students and joint research to grow together."

He also plans to establish and operate an "Overseas Distinguished Scholars Advisory Group." This group will include presidents of major world universities and Nobel laureates as advisory members, meeting regularly to further strengthen UNIST's international network.

Honorary Professor Nam-Pyo Suh is the first member of this overseas distinguished scholars advisory group.

President Lee said, "The overseas distinguished scholars advisory group will help strengthen UNIST's international capabilities in any form," and added, "I will maintain regular exchanges with Honorary Professor Suh to ensure that the university's operations and educational system are reorganized to meet global standards by inheriting his 'innovation DNA.'"

Honorary Professor Suh advised, "To become a global First Mover, it is essential to clearly establish the purpose and direction of science and technology. This clarifies what and why innovation is needed and enables proactive pursuit of how to innovate," adding, "The success of innovation begins with pursuing novelty. Whenever you try to change something, you always face difficulties and sometimes resistance. However, only when new achievements are established as a result of continuous innovation can you make a leap forward."

He continued, "Active open innovation with world-class universities and research groups is essential for global research-oriented universities," and said, "I will pay attention and support UNIST's active international cooperation efforts to bear fruit."

This schedule also included Chicago, a representative startup city in the U.S. Midwest, and Kendall Square near Boston, known as the Silicon Valley of the biotech industry.

A landmark located at the entrance of Kendall Square in Cambridge, USA.

This was to observe advanced startup ecosystems and gather ideas for building the "Challenge Convergence Hall," a startup space for students.

They also collected cases helpful for UNIST's science and biohealth startups from Chicago's startup support organizations and rehabilitation research institutions (Shirley Ryan AbilityLab), as well as from Kendall Square.

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