KAIST’s Graduate School of Culture Technology (GSCT) established a Creative Techno-Leader’s Program for CEOs (CTP) in order to foster creative CEOs who can bridge technology and culture. Course applications for the spring semester were accepted until February 24, and lectures will take place at KAIST’s Dogok-dong campus in Seoul, beginning in March.

The 21st century has proven to be an era of creative management in which culture and technology are blended in various ways, and this can be observed in the global economy. SM Entertainment is a Korean entertainment agency that has been leading the worldwide spread of K-pop. It was the systematic analysis of cultures followed by the strategic development of related technologies that aided Korean popular culture in reaching its full potential. Also, the driving force of Apple’s success was in its efforts to “be at the intersection of technology and liberal arts,” according to the company’s late co-founder Steve Jobs. In Korea, however, it was not until GSCT set up the CTP that any educational institutions provided programs focusing on the integration of these two areas. Emulating the success of SM Entertainment and Apple, KAIST aims to nurture inspirational leaders who possess the virtues of emotion, imagination and passion.

The course aims to educate the leaders of society, including company CEOs and executives, senior civil officials, financiers, lawyers and journalists. Lecturers are composed of the nation’s most renowned experts in culture technology, including the President of SK Communications, the Executive Director of Samsung Electronics, the Director of Korean Air and the President of SM Entertainment. Lectures are divided into three parts: Creativity and Leadership, Emotion and Innovation, and Sympathy and Communication. During each session, attendees are to learn about the future models of high-valued industries through the practical analysis on exemplary cases of successful and failed business operations. They will also be awarded completion certificates, an associate membership of the KAIST alumni and opportunities to take part in seminars hosted by GSCT.

Dongman Lee, Dean of GSCT, said that this course “will establish personal connections among assets of the Korean economy and culture industry, and will thus provide an important foundation for the emergence of competitive executives.”