Commentary

KAIST Inauguration of the 13th President

July 13, 2006
Inaugural Speech
Suh, Nam Pyo

Deputy Prime Minister Kim, Woo-Sik, Chairman of the Board Rim Kwan, Members of the Trustees, Dr. Robert Laughlin, distinguished guests, my faculty colleagues, KAIST students, ladies and gentlemen, I am indeed very honored and privileged to be standing here today as the 13th President of KAIST.

I am grateful to have this opportunity to work with the faculty, trustees, students and staff to make KAIST one of the premier institutions of the 21stcentury. I promise to do my very best to achieve this goal. I ask all of you here to support the efforts of the faculty, students and administration of KAIST as together we work hard to live up to the expectations and aspirations of the Korean people, who are the proud owner of this illustrious institution.

Over the past 35 years, KAIST has developed into one of the world's most outstanding research universities in the fields of science, technology, and management. It has excellent and driven students, accomplished and committed professors, state-of-the-art facilities, and enjoys the support and admiration of the Korean people. I would like to thank all my predecessors for their contributions. In particular, I would like to express my sincere gratitude and the gratitude of the Korean people to Dr. Laughlin for his dedication and commitment to the KAIST community.

KAIST is now poised to take its place among the world's best universities - not just in science, technology and management.
Our long-term vision and the current focus for KAIST is no less than achieving the following ultimate goal: KAIST will become one of the best scientific and technological universities in the world, and as such, the region around KAIST will become a major hub for high technology industries in Korea and the world.

I believe there are three major goals for KAIST. The first is to produce the next generation of leaders for society, industry, and academia. The second is to build the knowledge base and create technologies that will shape the future of humankind. The third goal is to provide public service that will change our world for the better.

If we achieve these goals, in the years to come, KAIST will be the place where innovative, new ideas and concepts are created that change the way people think and approach challenging issues. It will be where leading theories and disruptive technologies are generated. Most of all, it will be the place where our planet's future leaders - in all fields of human endeavor -are groomed through the rich education and varied experiences they receive and the professional and personal relationships they form. I believe KAIST can be all this, and more, through the concerted efforts of our faculty and students.
To achieve this, we must take a number of steps.

KAIST must emphasize research at the two ends of the research spectrum. At one end is fundamental research that generates basic principles, laws, and paradigms. At the other end, we must emphasize technological innovation. We must demonstrate how cutting-edge technologies, when applied effectively, can make a great impact on society.

History has demonstrated that the most important advances are often made at the boundaries between different intellectual disciplines. KAIST therefore must foster institutional mechanisms that facilitate collaborations across many disciplines.

In addition, KAIST must encourage pioneering work and intellectual risk-taking on the part of our faculty and students. KAIST researchers should be leaders, not followers. In the future, new disciplines will emerge - either through the convergence of existing disciplines or through new scientific discoveries or technological innovations. KAIST must be at the forefront of these new disciplines. It is easier - and more exciting - to be the leading institution in new fields, to be the "thought leader" rather than the follower. As they say, the view is better as the head sled dog!

We need to be mindful of research since graduate education at KAIST is conducted through research. At the same time, KAIST must also provide an excellent undergraduate educational program. It is in the undergraduate program where students learn to think as scientists and engineers. In the undergraduate program, we must emphasize design so that our students learn to be creative, in addition to learning how to analyze using scientific paradigms.

In the past, KAIST has made contributions to Korea by generating graduates who have made Korea a net exporter of high-technology goods and manufactured consumer goods. Future graduates of KAIST must have the ability to work in a global economy. They should be trained and exposed to the cultures and customs of other nations so that they can operate globally in technical and managerial fields.

Human resource development must be the concern of the entire KAIST community as well. KAIST must promote intellectual stimulation, interaction and collaboration at all levels. The administration must support the participation of faculty members in international forums and work with their counterparts in other countries. In the 1930's, most of the major developments in physics took place within 200 miles of Berlin because of the interactions that leading physicists could have by being able to meet easily. Today the distance our faculty must travel to have these interactions is global and virtual.

An equally important issue is attracting more women students and faculty. They are important intellectual resources, who should be fully engaged in science, technology and management. As the father of four daughters, a grandfather of one granddaughter and a husband of one wonderful woman, I can assure you that women are smarter than men.

Finally, KAIST must secure solid financial resources. Simply put, we will need much more money than KAIST has now, and we must also use the funds we have wisely by investing in the ideas, people and resources that will yield the most return. I believe that the budget of KAIST must increase substantially to compete with the best universities in the world; we need to double the KAIST budget during the next four years. This will require the support of everyone here and all the people in Korea. I am confident that the investment in KAIST will contribute to the future growth of the Korean economy and provide a better quality of life for everyone in this country and elsewhere. A significant investment in science, technology, education and research will help guarantee a vibrant economy and prosperous nation in the 21st century and beyond.

So how will we know when KAIST is the best university in the world?

I believe that there are several metrics. When our professors are the most renowned people in theirfields and when our graduates are the most sought after by companies in Korea and in other countries, we will know that KAIST is the best educational institution in the world. When technologies invented at KAIST are used all over the globe and when the theories developed by KAIST professors shape the thinking of future scholars, we know that KAIST is the place where cutting-edge research and innovative thinking happens. When scholars and students from every continent want to come to work and study at KAIST, we will know that we are one of the best institutions in the world.

Achieving these goals is my aspiration for KAIST. I am sure that my colleagues and students at KAIST all share these same aspirations with me.

We in the KAIST community must work harder than anyone else -and do so with vision, passion and a strong belief in what we can achieve. To be the second best is difficult but not impossible to achieve if we learn what others have done and try to do it better. However, to be the very best requires sacrifice, diligence, creativity, imagination, a culture of collaboration, and respect for the intellectual accomplishment of our colleagues and students.

All members of the KAIST community also must demonstrate the highest ethical standards. We musthonor truth, trust one another, and respect the privacy and integrity of others. Without this basic human decency, KAIST cannot function as a community of scholars and teachers, nor can we effectively prepare our graduates to be future leaders of society.

The 21st century already has witnessed complex economic and social challenges. It is becoming increasingly clear that one nation alone cannot address these challenges adequately; they must be addressed by the global community.

As it has done in the past, Korea will play an important role in working with other leading countries to solve some of the most critical global problems, including the integration of the global economy, as well as critical issues surrounding energy resources, the environment and healthcare.

As a global university in a global world, KAIST will play a pivotal role in supporting Korea's efforts. For example, with an increasing demand for energy by China, India and other developing nations, as well as developed ones, the use of alternative energy sources, nuclear power, and hydrogen-propelled transportation systems will become more of a necessity - and a reality -in the future. KAIST can help prepare for the post-petroleum era by investing in research and development of alternative energy sources.

In the next century, a limited number of the finest universities will come to dominate education and research, just as a few multinational corporations dominate their respective industrial sectors throughout the world. With vision and ambition, KAIST can become one of these universities, where the best people come to study and conduct research, where corporations and governments turn to have their problems solved, and where future leaders are made.

As the President of KAIST, I promise several things to my faculty colleagues and students.

I will listen carefully to your opinions and concerns. I will do my best to further your good ideas and innovations. I will support the efforts of every faculty member so that each of you can become even more respected as scholars, engineers, and scientists, nationally and internationally. I will work with the faculty and staff to create the infrastructure necessary to nurture cutting-edge research in important and emerging fields and, as part of this, will seek the help of the trustees and faculty in raising funds for education and research. Working together as a team, I will foster a culture of excellence, a culture of constructive competitiveness, and a culture of creative thinking. Together, we will create the ideal environment for learning, teaching and research.

I wish to conclude my remarks with a personal note. I have been extremely fortunate to have had unique opportunities as an engineer, educator and as a person. I have met many excellent people who were extremely helpful and kind to me throughout my life. I would like to thank them all.

I am particularly indebted to my family. I know that it is not part of Korean culture to say anything about one's family, but please let me say to my wife: "Thank you."

And thank you all. I look forward to working with each and every one of you.