Kim Dong-hwan, president of Seoul National University of Science and Technology, speaks throughout an interview with The Korea Times on the college’s campus in Nowon District, Seoul, April 2. Korea Times photograph by Shim Hyun-chul
Seoul National University of Science and Technology (SeoulTech) is doubling down on its id as a practice-oriented establishment, pushing to practice graduate-level researchers in superior fields and place itself because the go-to companion for Korean {industry}.
President Kim Dong-hwan, who took workplace in December 2023, has centered his agenda on schooling innovation, stronger analysis capability, deeper industry-academia cooperation and an expanded startup ecosystem.
“SeoulTech is reinforcing a system where research outcomes translate into technology transfer and commercialization, drawing on its strengths in applied research and industry collaboration to build a university model that contributes to industrial development and national competitiveness,” Kim stated throughout a latest interview with The Korea Times.
“To produce top-tier engineers in advanced fields — particularly semiconductors and AI (artificial intelligence) — training must extend beyond the undergraduate level to graduate education,” he stated, emphasizing that the college’s core technique is to provide {industry} with folks outfitted with the proper expertise on the proper time.
At the identical time, SeoulTech views attracting high-caliber international expertise as central to its competitiveness. This purpose extends past simply getting worldwide college students to commencement, however steering them into Korea’s industrial workforce and supporting their long-term settlement.
In line with its imaginative and prescient of changing into a college chosen by each {industry} and college students, SeoulTech is pushing forward with a challenge to set up a joint superior analysis and coaching heart with Gyeonggi Mechanical Technical High School.
The plan entails constructing a 29 billion received ($19.58 million) facility on idle land owned by the highschool, aimed toward creating an “employment-first, education-later” model that hyperlinks vocational coaching with larger schooling.
Under the initiative, highschool college students will achieve hands-on expertise by working humanoid robots and semiconductor tools developed by the college researchers, exposing them to superior applied sciences early on.
“The university needs research space, while students need opportunities to experiment and gain practical experience. This initiative can create a mutually beneficial structure,” Kim stated. “It will also establish a pathway for technical high school students to test university-developed technologies, enter the workforce and return for further studies when needed.”
The inside of a semiconductor fabrication facility at Seoul Technopark at Seoul National University of Science and Technology in Nowon District, Seoul. Courtesy of Seoul National University of Science and Technology
In response to the quickly evolving technological panorama, SeoulTech additionally launched a brand new biomedical engineering division this yr in partnership with the Korea Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences.
The college has additionally established a division of utilized quantum physics subsequent yr, additional increasing its footprint in rising fields.
Kim additionally outlined his imaginative and prescient of strengthening the college’s competitiveness by positioning it as a best choice for {industry}.
He in contrast the technique to that of Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, which has risen quickly in international rankings over the previous few many years, with a spotlight on utilized analysis as a key driver of its progress.
“What matters is creating technologies and talent that society and industry actively seek out — and that in turn enhances a university’s value,” he stated.
As a part of this imaginative and prescient, Kim is advancing the idea of an industry-integrated campus, or “business campus,” the place corporations and the college are intently embedded inside a shared area.
The model goes past standard industry-academia partnerships, aiming to create an atmosphere in which company professionals, researchers and college students work together organically.
“Such integration is expected to expand internship opportunities, build trust between companies and universities and foster a more collaborative culture beyond traditional institutional boundaries,” he added.
Kim Dong-hwan, president of Seoul National University of Science and Technology, delivers a lecture on IT and {industry} tendencies in Korea at Korkyt Ata Kyzylorda University in Kazakhstan, April 17, 2025. Courtesy of Seoul National University of Science and Technology
The college can also be stepping up efforts to construct international networks and strengthen assist programs for worldwide college students as a part of its push to develop into a globally built-in analysis college.
The college designated Kazakhstan as a strategic companion and is implementing a localized schooling cooperation model in the nation, constructing on an ODA-supported initiative that first established institutional partnerships and tutorial packages, together with a 2 plus 2 pathway in collaboration with its International College.
In September 2025, the college admitted its first cohort for this system, which selects high-performing native college students and locations them on a structured coaching pathway. Participants full about two years of foundational and main coursework in Kazakhstan earlier than transferring to Seoul to full their research.
“The students are selected based on strong academic performance and receive government scholarships in Kazakhstan, ensuring they have the capability and potential to succeed,” Kim stated, noting that the phased model connects native schooling with Korea’s engineering packages to domesticate globally aggressive, practice-oriented college students.
The challenge’s mid- to long-term purpose extends past scholar recruitment and change, aiming to export the college’s engineering schooling model abroad.
Building on the Kazakhstan initiative as a pilot, the college is contemplating increasing the model to different key Asian international locations, together with China, the Philippines and Indonesia.
Kim Dong-hwan, fourth from proper, president of Seoul National University of Science and Technology, celebrates the opening of the college’s international lounge with officers on the campus in Nowon District, Seoul, Oct. 1, 2025. Courtesy of Seoul National University of Science and Technology
Kim emphasised that the college goals to create a virtuous cycle in which worldwide graduates in science and engineering settle in Korea and grow to be key engineers.
To this finish, the college has launched packages to assist worldwide college students adapt shortly to Korea’s technological and industrial ecosystem.
At the forefront is its Division of Global Liberal Arts, launched this yr to supply tailor-made curricula for worldwide college students, together with a devoted coordinator professor system offering shut tutorial steering and counseling.
“These efforts are aimed at helping international students build basic skills needed to adapt to Korea’s tech industry ecosystem and successfully settle into academic and campus life,” Kim stated.
The college can also be strengthening {industry} hyperlinks by practice-oriented packages, together with particular lectures on AI functions and media content material manufacturing for worldwide college students.
“By reflecting the latest technology trends, these programs help students quickly understand Korea’s industrial landscape and develop practical competencies,” he added.