The Student Welfare Committee (SWC) recently announced that the KAIST administration is planning to undergo stages of innovation to improve KAIST’s global status by setting up a “Global K-Valley” in the Munji campus. According to the proposal released by the committee, the administration hopes to build a campus that contains corporations that would act as role models for students and provide employment opportunities for those who wish to delve into business.

According to the SWC President Seung Woo Jae, the proposal itself is in fact a response to the “College of Engineering renovation project” issued by the Korean government, which emphasizes the importance of corporations and jobs based on technology. To satisfy the demand of the government, the administration aims fully use its resources.

According to the proposal, the idea to set up the Global K-Valley can be divided into five sub-plans. The first is to set up a Residential College Program, which exposes the students to various kinds of cultural activities, educational programs, and exchange programs. The school will set up an environment that encourages the students to delve into business by installing a Machine Shop Center that can make prototypes and a Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) Center, where students can run programs such as Solidwork and MATLAB and have discussions.

The second plan is to set up an English village called “International Village” by opening English programs on campus such as the LG-KAIST multicultural school and other leadership programs that will encourage interaction between different cultures.

The third plan is to designate the Munji Campus as a center of business; KAIST will rent out space to students who wish to start a business.

The fourth plan, which is to establish a Future Innovation Technology Academy, focuses on the cultivation of and active research in future technology that will elevate the status of KAIST. The final plan is about bringing together all the research laboratories, universities, corporations into one gigantic K-Valley. Although none of the specifics have been settled nor have funding plans been organized, the administration is slowly moving towards the change.