KAIST Hosts 6th International Presidential Forum on Global Research Universities

Media Contact: Lan Yoon
Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)
Tel. +82-42-350-2294, +82-10-2539-4303
hlyoon@kaist.ac.kr
www.kaist.edu
SEOUL – The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) will hold the 6th International Presidential Forum on Global Research Universities (IPFGRU) on October 15th at the Westin Chosun Hotel in Seoul, Republic of Korea.

About 64 presidents and vice presidents from 57 research universities in 28 nations will attend for a presentation and panel discussion on the topic of “The Role and Responsibility of Research Universities: Knowledge Creation, Technology Transfer, and Entrepreneurship.”

The purpose of the forum is to promote excellence and innovation in higher education and provide a place for discussion among prominent research university leaders and key policy-makers in the private and public sectors from across the world.

Among the notable universities attending the forum are the University of California, Irvine, the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Technische Universität Berlin, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Rice University, the University of Waterloo, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Government officials as well as representatives from business and industry such as Samsung Electronics, Korea Telecom, and Elsevier also join the event.

The forum will proceed with three separate sessions: Enabling Knowledge Creation, Entrepreneurship & University-Based Technology Transfer, and Higher Education & Strategic Knowledge Creation: Specialization & Performance, through which speakers and panelists will examine how universities have played a role in knowledge creation and technology transfer, and ultimately how they contribute to the development of national economies.

Keynote speakers are Patrick Aebischer, president of EPFL, Michael Drake, chancellor of UC Irvine, and Jörg Steinbach, president of Technische Universität Berlin. Many of the university presidents will share their experiences in starting up their own business, for example, President Aebischer was involved in the creation of three pharmaceutical companies.

Steve Kang, president of KAIST, said: “In the face of an ever-changing economic climate driven by shifts in technological advancement, demographic trends, and global integration, the role of research universities is becoming ever more significant in achieving sustainable economic growth. This forum will help participants from around the world to define the choices ahead as universities seek the most productive and beneficial models for cooperation with industry, venture startups, and government.”

For the 2013 IPFGRU, Ministry of Science, ICT, and Future Planning, ROK, Saudi Aramco, Samsung Heavy Industries, S-Oil, Elsevier, Thomson Reuters, and the Korea Economic Daily are forum sponsors.

For more information: http://forum.kaist.ac.kr/
Hyun-Sook Min at International Relations Team, KAIST
Tel. +82-42-350-2449, 82-10-8815-9467
Email: min.hyunsook@kaist.ac.kr