KAIST holds global innovation summit with THE

By Jun Ji-hye

The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) will hold a large-scale global conference in partnership with Times Higher Education (THE) Tuesday to discuss the transformation of universities' impact in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the nation's top research university said Monday.

THE is the United Kingdom's leading publication specializing in news and issues related to higher education. The weekly magazine is known especially for its world university rankings.

The KAIST-THE Innovation & Impact Summit will take place at the university in Daejeon for three days, bringing together about 300 education experts and industry leaders from 25 countries.

The opening ceremony is scheduled for Wednesday.

The summit has four themes ― educational renovation, knowledge transfer and entrepreneurship, artificial intelligence (AI) culture, and the triple helix of innovation between universities, industries and governments.

Lino Guzzella, a former president of ETH Zurich, will give a keynote speech on the opening day on “Higher Education ― Coping with the Knowledge Inflation and Preparing for Success,” stressing the importance of critical thinking and creativity in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Bin Yang, vice president of Tsinghua University, will give a speech, “Reflection and Practice of Higher Education in an Era of Innovation,” calling for international cooperation in this hyper-connected world.

For the theme of knowledge transfer and entrepreneurship, Chi Young-suk, chairman of Elsevier, a global information analytics firm, will deliver the speech, “Fueling Knowledge Transfer: How Universities Can Take Advantage of Their Unique Culture.”

On Thursday, Joseph Aoun, president of Northeastern University, will give a talk on “Preparing Learners to Succeed in the Age of AI,” while Anne Glover, CEO and co-founder of Amadeus Capital Partners, will discuss measures to boost cooperation between universities, industries and governments to create a more dynamic ecosystem to nurture human resources.

Amadeus Capital Partners is a venture capital firm that invests in European high-technology companies.

For its part, THE will announce university impact rankings for the first time on the closing day of the summit.

“I hope the summit will help create a platform for global cooperation to foster prosperity and create a bright future,” said KAIST President Shin Sung-chul.