KAIST and the Republic of Korea Army (ROKA) have agreed to share their research and development capabilities in industry, academia, and research. The two organizations hope that this contribution will strengthen the army’s military power. Along with the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) signed by KAIST President Sung-Chul Shin and ROKA Chief of Staff Youngwoo Kim on March 7 during the “Army-KAIST Official Partnership Signing Ceremony”, a special curriculum titled “Army 4.0 Special Training Course” was hosted from March 5 to 9.

Through this agreement, the two organizations will promote the establishment and operation of a military research center and create new opportunities to encourage discussion on possible ways to increase the cooperation between academia and the military. More educational programs are also planned to be established in order to educate military personnel on the possible scenarios in future warfare and the cutting-edge equipment to be utilized in such situations. KAIST’s and ROKA’s goal is to lead the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which is one of the ambitions of the current leadership in KAIST, and to establish an advanced combat development system in order to increase the military’s capabilities in future battlefields.

Around 150 army officers from the Army Headquarters, Training and Doctrine Command, and Logistics Command participated in the “Army 4.0 Special Training Course”, which was held in the Fusion Hall within the KAIST Institute (E4).

Throughout the five days of the training, the program covered different topics on the technologies pertaining to the Fourth Industrial Revolution. On the first day, the topics were: “4th Industrial Revolution Core Technology and National Defense Innovation” and “Understanding Artificial Intelligence and Deep Learning”. The following day, the titles were: “Application of Big Data” and “Cyber Warfare”. The titles on the third and fourth day were: “Drone and Unmanned Aircraft Technology and Development Direction”, “Communication and Platform of Drone Clusters”, “Autonomous Vehicle Development Direction”, and “Understanding Brain Science”. The program ended with a forward-looking perspective, with a lecture titled “The Future of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the Applications of Brain Science”.

Director of the KAIST Security Convergence Institute Soo Hyun Kim said, “Through the agreement and the ‘Army 4.0 Special Training Program’, our institute and the Army plan to host a variety of exchange and cooperation programs to be able to better utilize the core technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, such as intelligent, unmanned, and/or automated systems in future combat. I hope this cooperation will be an opportunity to enhance the combat development of ROKA.”