South Korea’s most prestigious engineering and technology university will hold its first meeting with foreign diplomats to advertise the university’s academic success and education system, as part of its efforts to woo gifted foreign students and faculty. About 90 diplomats from 65 nations in South Korea, including 33 ambassadors, will attend the Friday (23 June) meeting in Seoul with the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). KAIST is a public research university located in Daedeok Innopolis, Daejeon, South Korea.
In a statement, KAIST said it will introduce the university’s education system, academic achievements and scholarship programs for foreign students. The move to admit more foreign students and faculty members underscores KAIST’s target to step up cooperation with universities around the world, according to the statement.
Currently, there are 710 foreign students and 54 full-time foreign faculty members at KAIST, accounting for 6.6 percent of total students and 8.6 percent of total faculty members. KAIST was established by the Korean government, with the help of American policymakers, in 1971 as the nation’s first research-oriented science and engineering institution. KAIST also has been internationally accredited in business education. In 2007, KAIST adopted dual degree programs with leading world universities to offer its students diverse educational opportunities and strengthen academic exchanges. It is partnered with the Technical University of Denmark, Carnegie Mellon University, the Georgia Institute of Technology, Technische Universität Berlin, and the Technische Universität München.