Following the inauguration ceremony held on March 8, The KAIST Herald interviewed President Kwang Hyung Lee. The president delivered his greetings and briefly introduced himself. Having grown up in the countryside, he considered himself an “ordinary student” throughout his education, graduating from Seoul National University and KAIST with BS and MS degrees in Industrial Engineering, respectively. He then studied at Institute National des Sciences Appliquees (INSA) Lyon in France in the 1980s, where the prevalent use of computers came about as a life-changing experience that led him to pursue computer science and to look to the future. Upon returning to KAIST, President Kwang Hyung Lee advocated the convergence of information, biology, and nano-technologies for future industries, establishing the Department of Bio and Brain Engineering. Also known for being the model for the “geek professor” in the drama “KAIST” aired in 1999, the new president is a pioneer of interdisciplinary learning and emphasizes the need to look beyond the present. He details his future vision for KAIST in this interview.
Good afternoon, and congratulations on your election as president. We would like to learn more about your future vision for KAIST and follow up on the details of the “QAIST” strategy you proposed. First of all, you have been at KAIST for a long time as a graduate, professor, and in administrative positions. How do you think your diverse past experiences will help you as the president?
As the president of KAIST, there are many perspectives to consider: the research and educational aspects, along with the viewpoints of students and staff. From being a student to working as a professor and in administration, I have had comparatively diverse experiences at KAIST and I believe that the variety of perspectives I have encountered first-hand will prove to be helpful in managing the university. In particular, since I have experienced being a student at KAIST, I would be able to more easily understand the needs of the students, which is important as an educational institute.
The majority of our readers are undergraduate students. From the perspective of the undergraduates, what will change the most after your appointment as president?
I hope that the tension within our school would diminish after my appointment. That is, the competition among peers. I believe that the students at KAIST have enormous abilities and potential. However, I think there is a tendency for students to be preoccupied with GPAs and the reality at hand, rather than visualizing what they could do for society and humanity in the future. The issue with our education system is that students study too much. So, I would like to help lower the tension and competitiveness of our school, encourage students to study slightly less, and instead consider what is going on in the world, where they stand, and find their dreams. I consistently emphasize to other professors not to teach too much. Since students at KAIST have outstanding potential, once they discover their future goal, they will find what they need to do in order to achieve that goal on their own. You might ask, “Then what should the professors teach?” I believe that it is important for us to lead those who have not been able to find their dreams onto the paths to discover them. The rest is up to them. I hope that students will increasingly have more leisure to try a variety of new activities, read many books, and have diverse experiences after my appointment as president.
What are your immediate plans for the ongoing online semesters in the pandemic situation?
The first and foremost [issue] in dealing with COVID-19 is safety. We are making sure of that. Despite this, as an educational institute, we have to continue on with education and research. I am particularly concerned about the freshmen who cannot visit campus. It is important that first-year students experience life on campus, and we are trying to find ways to allow and encourage freshmen to come to KAIST while not jeopardizing the safety on campus. I am hoping that the COVID situation will improve by summer this year, and if so, I am thinking of bringing all freshmen to campus. Nevertheless, most of the graduate students are on campus and around half of the total undergraduate students also came last fall since we gave permission to live in dormitories for those who applied for on-campus housing. So, I am anticipating that it might be alright to increase the number of freshmen.
How do you think KAIST’s education and research system, along with life on campus, should change in a post-pandemic setting?
We have experienced many hardships due to COVID-19, but I think we can utilize this crisis to bring about a positive change to our education system. We have already become accustomed to remote learning. It is not ideal to carry out remote learning on its own, but I believe that there are benefits to blending online learning and traditional in-person learning to form a hybrid education system. This is similar to the Education 4.0 model that we already have in place. The object of Education 4.0 is to allow students to study class content on their own and encourage questioning and discussions in class. This supports student-initiated learning and is also more convenient for students as they can study anytime and anywhere they wish. In addition, I believe that the larger amount of free time students would gain by only physically going to lectures half of the time would help students to imagine new ideas. I myself also found that the vast majority of students were satisfied when I led Education 4.0 courses. This post-pandemic setting would be a good opportunity to firmly establish this type of education system.
In your inaugural address, you stated that you would encourage student-initiated learning to promote creative and innovative research. We would like to hear about your concrete plans.
I believe we need to develop more educational contents that are suited for online-hybrid education. Rather than simply transferring the materials currently being used to an online platform, we need to develop new material. One example of this is the online experimentation program we are preparing. Instead of carrying out experiments in class, we are trying to make experimentation possible through an online platform. This program will likely be tested by General Physics Laboratory courses in the coming semester, as we decided last year, and we will expand on from there. In the same way, we should continue to develop new educational methods that previously did not exist.
Based on our insight into your views so far, it seems that you would be inclined to support start-ups and the newly established School of Transdisciplinary Studies. Do you have any specific plans?
I believe that KAIST should become a leader in the start-up industry and I wish to continue actively supporting start-ups. So, I will promote the “one lab-one start-up” initiative for all labs, unless the research area does not allow for it. With regards to the School of Transdisciplinary Studies, I personally have high expectations. As I previously mentioned, although it is necessary to have depth in their area of specialty, only focusing on one discipline would narrow students’ horizons. But the School of Transdisciplinary Studies pursues both aspects, taking into account the need for a broader range of knowledge, which is the reason for my anticipation.
You also mentioned that you would establish a “Failure Laboratory” to support students to challenge themselves in innovative research. Could you elaborate on this?
At the moment, I think that there is a need to change the values that KAIST strives to nurture in its students. This is apparent in the certificates awarded during prominent events such as the commencement ceremony or anniversary of the university. You may notice that at KAIST, these awards are based on academic achievement, which pushes students to achieve better grades. Of course, I do not deny that grades are important. But there are other characteristics that are equally important. Those who volunteer regularly and help others are likely to be successful in society. Those who challenge themselves can innovate and discover something new. Those who read many books have an abundance of basic knowledge that allow them to be more understanding of people and the world. Those who attain high grades are usually diligent, but they are not necessarily more successful in the future than those who do not. For example, Jung-ju Kim of Nexon was not who you would call a model student when I was teaching him, but he now runs one of the largest gaming companies in the world. As such, there are many virtues. I would like to acknowledge all these virtues and show that there is not one sole direction that our school pursues, and to help students realize that it is not necessary to stand in line and compete for the best GPA. This would encourage diversity in the activities that they choose to participate in. This is my motive behind establishing a “Failure Laboratory”. The “Failure Laboratory” I speak of is the changing of our perspective toward failure and becoming more resistant to the diminishing confidence that may follow.
I believe that failure is a stepping stone for the next success, and we need to constantly remind ourselves that the experience of failing once will help us not to fail the next time."
If we look at successful start-ups in the US, their leaders experienced an average of 2.5 failures. I also faced difficulties in retaking my college entrance exam, but looking back, I realized that those hardships were a good opportunity for me. As such, I envision the “Failure Laboratory” to teach students many examples of failure and treat those with experience of failure preferentially. I also suggested that research fund proposals that are deemed to have a very high chance of success by the judging committee should be rejected. There is no meaning in doing something so obvious that others can do easily or have already been done. I want our students to be different from one another and find their own identity. This will align with my vision of reducing the tension at KAIST and nurturing diversely and distinctly competent people for the betterment of society.
The “Failure Laboratory” is about changing our awareness. We tend to think that we cannot fail, and that one failure is a lasting flaw. However, I feel that this is a problem that has to be addressed in Korean society and also within our school."
We need to change our view of failure, create policies, and form an atmosphere of encouragement to help others regain their stance. We need to think, “since they have the experience of failing before, they won’t fail again,” rather than criticizing others for their failures. The “Failure Laboratory” is what creates that sense of consciousness.
The “one lab-one foreigner” policy that you put forward as a strategy for internationalization was intriguing. How are you planning to implement this policy?
Although undergraduate students are not affiliated with a particular laboratory, graduate students do belong to a laboratory. Therefore, the professors leading each laboratory need to accept international graduate students. Internationalization and exchange is important in academics as advancements cannot be made in isolation. This is the reason behind my “one lab-one foreigner” policy, but this is not something that can be enforced by the university administration. We need to encourage and persuade professors to take part in the internationalization of our campus. In line with this, I would like to increase the admission of international undergraduate students as well.
How are you planning on addressing the problems that come with internationalization in the KAIST campus — for example, the division between Koreans and foreigners that currently exists?
I understand that there can be problems with increased internationalization. Firstly, I believe increasing the number of international students can help reduce the perception that they are a minority. International students should also be able to participate in the administration and operation of the university through various committees. Furthermore, simply sending warm words, such as a letter of greeting by the president on major national holidays of various countries in their respective languages, may help internationals feel more at home.
It is important that we make an effort to convey our understanding of the difficulties that international students face, reduce the sense of estrangement between foreign and Korean students, and help them integrate themselves into our community."
We heard that you are currently running a lecture. Are you planning on communicating with students through means other than teaching?
Yes, I am currently teaching a Leadership course called “Big science history: My Success Equation Learning from Human Success”, and I would like to continue lecturing in future semesters since it is a good opportunity for me to interact with undergraduate students. Apart from that, I am also planning on having a gathering every first Tuesday of the month, from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. on the first floor lobby of the Main Administration building (E14) starting next month. Anyone who wants to join — students, professors, and staff — will be able to come and discuss freely with me.
Lastly, is there anything you would like to say to the KAIST community?
I would like to emphasize to our students to be more conscious of the world around us. There is a wider world outside of KAIST and we need to view that world. To be able to do so, it is important to expose yourself to diverse experiences. Instead of staying at school during the holidays, you should be experiencing society, travelling to different places, interning at companies, or working part-time. It may be useful to start planning your summer holiday now in advance, although there may be some restrictions due to COVID-19. I would also like to tell students not to be afraid of taking on challenges. Speaking from my personal experience, I took up computer science while I was in France after studying industrial engineering because I felt that it would prove to be essential in the future. Just as it took me four years to specialize in industrial engineering, four more years helped me become a computer scientist, and they did not go to waste. I keep emphasizing not to study too much, but this is because KAIST is a place where its members are already studying hard. Every student at KAIST is diligent and exceptional in their studies, and I believe in their potential once they are led on the right path.