KAIST K-School has established a Master of Entrepreneurship and Innovation degree, its first master’s degree to systematically teach entrepreneurship practices to students with backgrounds in science and technology. The one-year program was officially launched this fall semester with the cooperation of 16 other departments at KAIST. Award-winning professors with first-hand experience in entrepreneurship at corporations such as NASDAQ and KOSDAQ have gathered to educate students on the nature and foundations of the study.

Different from most graduate school programs, the Master of Entrepreneurship and Innovation degree goes beyond the established framework and instills an entrepreneurial mindset to raise leaders capable of founding and maintaining startups. Courses will put greater emphasis on actual practices rather than theory. Of the required 33 credits, 21 credits will focus on business and enterprise: Interdisciplinary Convergence Capstone Design, Entrepreneurs’ Toolbox, Startup Marketing, Startup Finance, Startup Onsite Practicum, Entrepreneurial Management, and Entrepreneurial Leadership. The remaining 12 credits can be earned from technology development courses.

Internship programs that are part of the requirements will give further insight into real-time problems and raise problem-solving skills. Over the summer semester, students will work in groups to visit various businesses, analyze possible bottleneck technologies, and provide suggestions and solutions. These programs will allow them to gain essential experience and apply their acquired knowledge into practice.

This fall, the degree will enter a test phase and will accept its first students in the spring semester of 2017. A total of 20 graduate students will be selected for the program who will be awarded up to 90 percent of their tuition with additional startup funds. Also available will be the ‘Startup Village,’ an open area for students to discuss and develop their ideas freely.The newly inaugurated study seems to be of interest to a large number of students. Over 60 students of various backgrounds have already applied for the 2017 spring semester, leaving the acceptance rate at about 3-to-1.

Director of the Master of Entrepreneurship and Innovation degree Hui-yoon Lee stated, “This program will raise the Zuckerbergs of Korea, who will successfully commercialize newly developed technologies.”