2011 is the year of the 40th anniversary of KAIST’s establishment. Since 1971, KAIST has grown into one of the world’s leading science and technology universities and to continue in its progress, KAIST visualized its will to make a big step forward with a new emblem, designed for the 40th anniversary. The emblem represents key concepts of leadership, premium, sciences and humanity. Moreover, the 40th Celebration Student Committee was founded to promote this monumental year.

Could you both introduce yourselves briefly?
[Jin] Hello, my name is Su Geul Jin, and I’m a senior majoring in Computer Science. I’m the president of the 40th Celebration Student Committee.

[Kang] Hello, I’m the vice president of the 40th Celebration Student Committee, Su Young Kang. I’m also a senior and major in Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Could you introduce the 40th Celebration Student Committee?
[Jin] The 40th Celebration Student Committee is a specially organized student group for the 40th anniversary of KAIST. Thus, the committee will be managed temporary for one year. After I ran for the student presidential election last year, I got recommended to work for the 40th Celebration Student Committee.

[Kang] In my case, I am a member of Imgeffect, a committee preparing for various school events. Su Guel and I built up the foundation of the 40th Celebration Student Committee and selected nine students last month to work with us. When the second recruiting process is completed, we plan to carry out our prepared events and activities.

What are the roles of the 40th Celebration Student Committee?
[Jin] There is an official 40th Celebration Committee run by KAIST, so our student committee’s role is to plan various 40th anniversary events which students can actively participate in and enjoy.

[Kang] Since students are an important part of KAIST, we will collect students’ ideas and reflect them throughout the decisions that we make. Instead of forcing students to participate in the 40th anniversary proceedings, our goal is to make students understand the significance of the 40th anniversary of KAIST and to encourage students’ love for our school.

Could you describe the activities or events that the committee is planning?
[Kang] Our work can be divided into four main categories. The first category is the projects. We receive proposals from clubs and organizations and reflect their ideas on projects to be executed. Secondly, the committee recruits supporters. Any KAIST student can apply for this position. Supporters’ roles are to participate in diverse activities and advertise the 40th anniversary of KAIST. Next, we have cultural promotion work. We are planning public campaigns and contests which would draw interests from students. Lastly, we have fund-raising campaigns.

Once we have selected all the members for the 40th Celebration Student Committee, we will carry out our projects throughout the whole year. We have already explained our projects to clubs and organizations and completed the basic outlines.

[Jin] We started one fund-raising campaign last month. With the money raised, our goal is to construct a new student center or remodel the KAIST Library. Since the school has a limited budget, fund-raising campaigns would show students’ willingness to contribute to our school. As part of our fund-raising campaigns, the 40th anniversary chocolates will be available in cafeterias, and any profits will be spent for the benefit of students.

Why is the 40th anniversary of KAIST so special?
[Kang] Until now, KAIST has never celebrated its anniversary at this large a scale. The 40th anniversary is the first anniversary for which its celebration would continue for one whole year. Thus, the 40th anniversary is a milestone year in the history of KAIST, as this year would become a starting point which links the past, present and future of KAIST together. Also, the 40th anniversary is related to Vision 2025.

Vision 2025 outlines KAIST’s plans and ambitions to become one of the leading universities in the world. It includes a high concentration of outstanding people, the “idea factory”, a strong financial base, freedom, commitment to solving major societal problems, strong education programs and pedagogy.

Do you have any last comments for students?
[Kang] There will be various activities and advertisements regarding the 40th anniversary of KAIST. We hope students would pay more attention to these upcoming events and actively participate. Also, a lot of these activities will be closely connected to existing events such as school festivals or conferences, so it is important to fully participate in existing events. A main event for the 40th anniversary celebration is planned in May. This will be a big event involving alumni, so we expect many students will take interest in these events. Overall, we hope students can enjoy KAIST’s 40th anniversary.