In an attempt to discover challenges for the KAIST community to solve in an unprecedented way, President Kwang Hyung Lee organized the “KAIST Crazy Day Innovative Idea Contest” from March 14 to April 8. The objective of KAIST Crazy Day is to spread an innovative culture and promote a “Crazy, Creative, Challenge, and Carrying”, so-called 4Cs, attitude within the KAIST community at least one day a year by putting into practice ideas that are usually difficult to implement on campus.
President Lee aimed to receive unique and eccentric ideas for the KAIST Crazy Day from diverse participants, not limited to KAIST members and regardless of their academic background, age, and gender. Global Strategy Institute (GSI), which helped organize this contest, suggested “Becoming KAIST’s president for one day”, “No note-taking during classes”, “No researching for the sake of research”, and “Calling colleagues by name instead of by positions” as examples of ideas that are not bound by conventional practices and that elicit questions of “why”.
The criteria for selection are the idea’s social/ethical effects, creativity, innovation, initiative, feasibility, and public consensus. Internal and external committee members have been actively working to select the final winners through three stages of screening. The first stage of screening is currently underway to select the top 20 entries. After being selected as the top 20, applicants have to submit a detailed proposal containing specific plans for how to implement their proposal on campus. The prize is 10 million KRW in total: five million KRW, along with an opportunity to have lunch with the KAIST president, for the top prize winner, two million KRW for the grand prize winner, and one million KRW for three excellence prize winners. The final award-winning idea will be carried out at the “KAIST Crazy Day” event in May.
President Lee stated, “Harvard University’s humor science magazine Annals of Impossible Research awards the ‘Ig Nobel Prize’ annually to people who conducted absurd and weird research. Considering the numerous cases in which bizarre ideas led to the actual Nobel Prize, science and technology innovation starts by breaking away from stereotypes and common senses.” He is firmly moving ahead with his plan to continue KAIST's challenge and experimental spirit by practicing unconventional and groundbreaking ideas proposed by people. Planning to host the “KAIST Crazy Day” was clearly not just for school promotion purposes. It showed President Lee’s ambition — to lead the world by making bold and unprecedented attempts.