Could you introduce yourself to our readers?
Hello, I’m Michael Drake, Chancellor of University of California (UC), Irvine, and I’m very excited to formally sign this memorandum of understanding (MoU) with KAIST, which we respect very much and have much in common with.

▲ Chancellor of UC Irvine, Michael Drake | Shin Hum Cho

What affiliations and activities have you had with KAIST and the newly inaugurated President Sung-Mo Kang?
The president and I, along with eight of our colleagues, were in the UC system for several years together. So I was much involved at the very beginning of UC Merced as a member of the committee that planned the curriculum for the education in UC Merced 15 years ago. We were very pleased to welcome President Kang as the chancellor at UC Merced, which happened about six years ago, and we worked together thereafter for four and a half years.

Why is the signing of the MoU important to UC Irvine?
The MoU forms the foundation for our future relationship, and sets a framework upon which we can work with to build and guide the exchange of faculty and students. This includes mutual programs for research and education. We believe it will build foundations that will help both universities, both countries, and both regions, and make a real win-win.

KAIST and UC Irvine share many aspects, including rigorous research academics and its recent history as an educational institution. Do you find any similarities between these two institutions? How will they help strengthen this MoU?
As you mentioned, our university has programs that are similar to KAIST. We are similar in age as UC Irvine is 47 years old and KAIST about 42. We both focus on education where science and technology act as drivers of the economy. KAIST really focuses on programs that help Korea and other parts of the world to prosper. We focus on programs that have helped Southern California, the United States, and other countries to prosper. It’s these overlapping interests that make for such a good partnership.

What does UC Irvine wish to accomplish with KAIST?
We are all part of a global economy. We each have local programs for our respective regions, but still we are connected. Science is a global language. So, as long as we speak this global language together, having partners in various parts of the world is the best way to continue to move forward.

Will the MoU agreements bring about long-term achievements?
What we hope is for two things to happen. One, we hope that our faculty and students will work together in research to advance science and technology even more rapidly than when we do it alone. The other is that we also care a lot about education, and we want to continue educating the next generation of leaders. We believe that having partners will help us to do that in the most effective way possible.

UC Irvine, founded in 1965, is an educational institution quite young compared to other universities. Despite this short history, the academic achievement has been extensive. What was the key to its success?
We began with a vision, and we were privileged to attract very high quality people at the very beginning and to start the school with a high standard. And we were able to enforce that high standard ever since.

As you know, President Sung-Mo Kang has recently been inaugurated as the 15th president of KAIST. Do you have any advice or helpful suggestions for President Kang?
I think he has a very good experience from being in the UC system, both in UC Santa Cruz and UC Merced. The most important thing to be successful as a university president is to have experience and learn from it. It is a very complicated job. And much that you learn, you have to learn by continuing to do it. There is no manual, no magic. I think his outstanding scientific training, his leadership skills, and his commitment to science can be incredibly effective for KAIST, for Korea, and the world.

What is your philosophy behind education and academics? How would you define it?
We stand for four pillars of excellence: academics, research for innovative new ideas, character, and leadership. Research can be in the humanities too, like writing new novels and plays. But we also care about character and leadership excellence to develop the whole person. So we put together what we learn in the classroom and the laboratory, but we also learn how to be better, stronger people and leaders.

Do you have any last comments or words to say to our KAIST students?
I have been always impressed with the achievements of KAIST students and the great contributions made by KAIST. That is why we made the trip to come meet with our esteemed colleague President Kang and to sign a formal MoU agreement so our institution can work together. We look forward to having KAIST students as partners, and we know that students and faculties at UC Irvine and KAIST will work together very well.

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