The initiative aims to support students’ startups and encourage them to actualize any innovative ideas with the right financial, capital, and human resources. The successful development of this initiative is expected to bring about many positive outcomes including, but not limited to, instilling in KAIST students the spirit of entrepreneurship in the field of science and engineering, and generating income from the startups.

In line with many startup and entrepreneurship programs established across universities nationwide, President Sung Mo Kang spearheaded the inception of the program Startup KAIST in order to provide an on-campus, one-stop support platform for businesses that are just taking off.

At the launching ceremony, Professor Lak Kyoung Song from the Department of Business and Technology Management revealed that Startup KAIST program includes renovating the third floor of the Educational Support Building (W8) to a studio for the exclusive use of entrepreneurship and business-related student clubs, fast prototyping, seminars, and many other facilities. He emphasized the need for a one-stop platform and that Startup KAIST will continue to support the existing, startup-related initiatives independently implemented by Center for Science-based Entrepreneurship, Office of University Industry Cooperation, Department of Business and Technology Management, and Center for Innovation Initiatives.

The program is geared towards, among many things, providing necessary information on intellectual property management, financial resources management, marketing and business strategies with the help of experts in their respective fields and entrepreneurship mentors. Some programs that aspiring student-entrepreneurs can benefit from are venture capital and angel investors information session, entrepreneurship lectures, Startup KAIST forum, startup competitions and camps, et cetera.