KAIST Drives National Competitiveness with a ‘Two-Birds-One-Stone Model’ Combining AI Research Capability and Balanced Regional Innovation

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Designated as a Key Institution for the Government’s ‘AX (AI Transformation) Innovation Hub’… Officially Pursuing Goal of Becoming a Top-Tier AI Power (G3)

KAIST has emerged as a central pillar of the national competitiveness enhancement strategy, having been designated as the AX (AI Transformation) Innovation Hub and a key institution for regional innovation among the four S&T institutions in the government’s ‘Plan for Becoming a Science and Technology Powerhouse.’ President Jae-myung Lee recently emphasized the importance of nurturing science and engineering talent at a cabinet meeting and ordered increased support for S&T institutions. In response to this national mandate, KAIST announced its full-scale implementation of a strategy that combines strengthening AI research capability with balanced regional innovation. President Kwang Hyung Lee stated that “strengthening AI capabilities and regional development is a ‘two-birds-one-stone strategy’ that simultaneously elevates national competitiveness,” and that KAIST’s consistently emphasized philosophy that ‘the region is national competitiveness’ has become a core direction of national policy.

KAIST firmly maintains its central role in nurturing science and technology talent, even amidst the intensifying concentration towards medical schools and medical fields. The increasing number of applicants to the four S&T institutions for rolling admissions demonstrates the successful functioning of the education and research foundation that allows students to choose ‘scientists and engineers’ over ‘doctors.’ With the goal of becoming one of the top three AI powers (G3), KAIST is establishing a National AI Research Lab and pushing forward with large-scale projects to lead the next-generation AI research paradigm. It is already spearheading the development of ‘K-Fold,’ a next-generation bio-AI model surpassing Google DeepMind, and has been selected as a key participating institution in the Lunit consortium, an leading medical AI company, continuously producing globally competitive research outcomes. Furthermore, KAIST is participating as a core research team in national strategic projects, such as the ‘Generative AI Leading Talent Cultivation Project,’ expanding industry-demand-based research and demonstration.

KAIST’s AI research power is internationally recognized. NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang directly referred to KAIST as an “Amazing University” in his keynote speech at the 2025 APEC CEO Summit, highly evaluating its research capabilities and potential for global collaboration. This international assessment demonstrates that the ‘practical AI research’ based on industry-academia linkage, which KAIST has promoted, is expanding its influence in the global technology ecosystem.

KAIST is leading the regional-based advanced industry ecosystem by expanding physical AI-based research infrastructure in regions like Jeonbuk and Gyeongnam, centered around its main campus in Daejeon. The creation of a robot-based ‘Robot Valley’ in cooperation with Daejeon Metropolitan City and the ‘Global Innovation Startup Growth Hub Project’ are also serving as core drivers promoting the growth of local companies and the industrialization of advanced technology. Notably, the bio-company ‘SOVAGEN,’ founded based on the technology of Professor Jeong Ho Lee of the KAIST Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering, achieved an overseas technology transfer of its epilepsy RNA drug technology worth approximately 750 billion KRW, highlighting the KAIST-style virtuous cycle of innovation where the university’s original technology flows into industry.

KAIST is disseminating a challenging research culture through the operation of its Failure Lab and is broadening the foundation for future science and technology talent by reinforcing early talent identification and development programs, such as ‘Junior KAIST’ and the ‘3+4 TUBE Program.’ President Kwang Hyung Lee stated, “We will closely cooperate with the government to expand AI research budgets and establish international joint research infrastructure, nurturing young talent who choose the future to become the main force of national science and technology,” adding, “Through the KAIST model, we will contribute to realizing an AI powerhouse Korea where both the nation and regions grow together.”

광고

#KAIST #AIResearch #AXInnovationHub #BalancedRegionalDevelopment #KFold #AmazingUniversity #RobotValley #SOVAGEN #AITalentCultivation