Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology

Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, simply referred to as UNIST (Korean: 울산과학기술원; Hanja: 蔚山科學技術院; RR: Ulsan Gwahak Gisurwon), is one of the four public universities in South Korea which are dedicated to research in science and technology, along with KAIST, GIST, and DGIST. UNIST was founded in 2007 in response to growing demand for higher education in the Korean industrial capital of Ulsan,[2] where world-renowned automotive (Hyundai Motor), shipbuilding (Hyundai Heavy Industries), petrochemical (SK Energy), and secondary cells industries are clustered. At the time of its foundation, UNIST was known for being the first national university in South Korea to be incorporated and thus administered by an independent board of trustees despite being funded by the central government.

Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology
울산과학기술원
MottoFirst in Change
TypeNational
Established2007 (2007)
Budget152 million USD (2015)
PresidentYong Hoon Lee
Academic staff
391[1] (2016)
Administrative staff
288[1] (2016)
Undergraduates4052[1] (2016)
Postgraduates1332[1] (2016)
Location,
ColorsUNIST Navy, UNIST Emerald
MascotUni(윤이) the unicorn
Websitewww.unist.ac.kr
Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology
Hangul
울산과학기술원, 울산과기원, 유니스트
Hanja
蔚山科學技術院, 울산과기원, 유니스트
Revised RomanizationUlsan Gwahak Gisurwon
McCune–ReischauerUlsan Kwahak Kisurwŏn

History

Despite the fact that Ulsan, with over 1.1 million residents, is an industrial powerhouse of South Korea with the highest GDP per capita among any region in the country, there only existed one university within the city limits, the University of Ulsan. The former president Roh Mu-hyun included the establishment of a national university in Ulsan as part of his campaigning platform and a discussion regarding the university began three years into his presidency along with the construction of a new high speed rail station, Ulsan Station, for the city.[3]

The location of the campus was finalized in 2006[4] and in 2007, Moo Je Cho was selected as the first president of the new university. Cho appealed to the public that the school should be a science and technology oriented institute in order for the new school to find its niche and to take advantage of a possible synergetic effect resulting from a collaboration between the researchers and the local industry as seen in the case of Stanford University and Silicon Valley or KAIST and Daedeock Innopolis.

UNIST was established by the UNIST bill that was passed in 2007 by the request of the people and city of Ulsan. In 2009, UNIST opened its doors to welcome its first class of undergraduate students.

In March 2015, a new bill was passed in the national assembly recognizing UNIST as one of the four nationally funded research institutes in Korea. Besides changing the Korean name of the school from Ulsan Gwahak Gisurdae (울산과학기술대) to Ulsan Gwahak Gisurwon (울산과학기술원), the passage of this bill implied a new set of additional changes and benefits from the national government including but not limited to a greater emphasis on graduate education and the waiver of the alternative military service examination for its PhD students.

On 12 May 2019, the university has celebrated its 10th anniversary from the day of its opening. The ceremony lasted the entire day, and several UNIST members and distinguished guests, such as National Assembly members Lee Chae-ik, Jeong Kab-yoon, and Kang Ghil-boo, Ulju County mayor Lee Seon-ho, among others. The ceremony was sponsored by KBS and BNK Kyongnam Bank. A commemorative open concert was held in the evening of the same day and was broadcast via Korean Broadcasting Service. The concert was attended by some 7000 people.[5]

Timeline

April 6, 2007 The Act on Establishment and Operation of the National University Corporation, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology was enacted.
September 1, 2007 The first president, Dr. Moo Je Cho, was appointed
October 10, 2007 The first board of directors meeting was held
March 2, 2009 The first undergraduate students were accepted
June, 2010 UNIST Supercomputing center opened
September 1, 2011 President Cho started a second term
October 7, 2012 The first Institute for Basic Science (IBS) lab opened.
October 18, 2012 The stem cell research building opened
February 26, 2013 The first graduation ceremony took place
February 27, 2013 The 5th class entrance ceremony was held
July 1, 2014 The Genomics Institute opened
September, 2015 UNIST becomes one of the fourth nationally funded research institutes in Korea
October, 2015 Inauguration of Dr. Mooyoung Jung as the 3rd president of the school took place.[6]
December 7, 2015 Inauguration of the institute of disaster management took place.[7]
March 7, 2017 UNIST opens Industry-Academia Battery R&D Center, said to be the world's largest R&D center for batteries operated by a university.[8]
March 23, 2018 Completion of the Ulsan Industry-University Convergence Center, UNIST's second campus.[9]
November 26, 2018 UNIST receives the AACSB (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) International Accreditation.[10]
November 25, 2019 Dr. Yong Hoon Lee begins his term as UNIST's 4th president.[11]

University rankings

University rankings
ARWU National[12]General 6-8
USNWR National[13]General 7
THE Asia[14]General 22
USNWR Asia[15]General 51
THE World[16]General 201-250
USNWR World[17]General 368
ARWU World[18]Research 301-400
THE World (Young)[19]General/Young 20

In 2017, the Times Higher Education ranked UNIST 201-250th in the world.

In 2018, the Times Higher Education ranked UNIST 201-250th in the world.

In 2019, the U.S. News & World Report Best Global University Ranking ranked UNIST 368th in the world, 51st in Asia, 7th in Korea. Times Higher Education World University Rankings ranked UNIST 201-250th in the world, 20th amongst world's youngest universities (Universities that are 50 years old or younger), and 22nd best university in Asia.

In 2020, the Times Higher Education ranked UNIST 176th in the world.

Academics

UNIST is a medium-sized, research oriented university. Modeled after other universities around the world such as KAIST, MIT and HKUST the school employed three approaches that would set UNIST apart from other universities in Korea. First, despite being a national university of Korea, 100% of the courses at UNIST are taught in English and the school is actively seeking ways to recruit international students and professors. Second, all undergraduate students are required to pursue two areas of specializations called 'tracks'. The first track is roughly equivalent to a major and the second track is comparable to a minor at other universities. Third, UNIST has adopted the flipped learning approach in its classrooms in order to promote active student participation and mastery of the core subjects in science and engineering.

UNIST comprises 13 science and engineering departments, a business school, and the School of Liberal Arts, which oversees the school's first year undergraduate curriculum. In addition, there are several specialized graduate schools and research centers.[20]

Undergraduate Schools

  • Department of Mechanical Engineering
  • Department of Urban and Environmental Engineering
  • Department of Materials Science and Engineering
  • Department of Nuclear Engineering
  • School of Design
  • School of Biomedical Engineering
  • Department of Industrial Engineering
  • Department of Biological Engineering
  • Department of Electrical Engineering
  • Department of Computer Science and Engineering
  • Department of Physics
  • Department of Mathematical Science
  • Department of Chemistry
  • School of Energy and Chemical Engineering
  • School of Business Administration
  • School of Liberal Arts

Graduate Schools

  • Graduate School of Technology & Innovation Management
  • Graduate School of Creative Design Engineering
  • Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Management
  • Graduate School of Artificial Intelligence

Affiliated research centers

  • KOGIC: Korean Genomics Center at UNIST
  • Hans Schöler Stem Cell Research Center
  • Institute for Basic Science (IBS) is a nationally funded research organization in South Korea consisting of a number of labs in universities around the country. UNIST is home to 3 IBS affiliated labs, namely:[21]
    1. Center for Multidimensional Carbon Materials (Director Rodney Ruoff)
    2. Center for Soft and Living Matter (Director Steve Granick)
    3. Center for Genomic Integrity (Director Myung Kyungjae)

Campus

UNIST maintains a fully residential campus. Its location, Eonyang, is adjacent to the old Ulsan city and small mountains surround the whole campus. At the center of the campus, there sits a large man-made pond called Gamakmot.

Note

  • All courses are taught in English.
  • Almost all students live in dormitories.
  • All undergraduate students and graduate students in good standing receive full-tuition and living expenses from the university.
  • UNIST is actively recruiting international researchers and graduate level students.

See also

References

  1. "UNIST Facts & Figures". UNIST Official Website. UNIST. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  2. ""Manufacturing Capital of Korea" Ulsan Takes No. 1 Position in Per-capita Income". The Korea Economic Dailey. 26 December 2012. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
  3. "울산 국립대 추진 일지". www.hani.co.kr. Retrieved 2016-02-21.
  4. "울산 국립대 부지 "반연지구" 확정". news.naver.com. Retrieved 2016-02-21.
  5. "UNIST Celebrates Its 10th Anniversary with Ulsan Citizens". UNIST News Center. Retrieved 2019-11-24.
  6. "Inauguration of President Mooyoung Jung". UNIST News Center. Retrieved 2019-11-24.
  7. "The Institute of Disaster Management Inaugurated at UNIST". UNIST News Center. Retrieved 2019-11-24.
  8. "UNIST Opens World-Class Battery Research Center". UNIST News Center. Retrieved 2019-11-24.
  9. "UNIST Celebrates Completion of Ulsan Industry-University Convergence District". UNIST News Center. Retrieved 2019-11-24.
  10. "UNIST Business School Earns AACSB International Accreditation". UNIST News Center. Retrieved 2019-11-24.
  11. "President Yong Hoon Lee Begins Term as UNIST's 4th President". UNIST News Center. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
  12. World University Rankings - 2019 (2019). "South Korea Universities in Top 500 universities". Academic Ranking of World Universities. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
  13. U.S.News & World Report (2019). "Search Best Global Universities - US News Education". U.S. News & World Report LP. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
  14. "Times Higher Education Asia University Rankings". Times Higher Education. 2019. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
  15. U.S.News & World Report (2019). "Best Global Universities in Asia - US News Education". U.S. News & World Report LP. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
  16. "THE World University Rankings". Times Higher Education. 2020. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  17. U.S.News & World Report (2019). "Best Global Universities - US News". U.S. News & World Report LP. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
  18. "Academic Ranking of World Universities". Institute of Higher Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University. 2019. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
  19. "Young University Rankings 2019". Times Higher Education (THE). 2019. Retrieved July 21, 2019.
  20. "Academics | UNIST". www.unist.ac.kr. Retrieved 2019-11-12.
  21. "After Establishment: Secondary Period". UNIST. Retrieved 6 July 2018. Since 2012, UNIST has accomplished a feat of hosting 3 IBS Campus Research Centers on campus, receiving funding of $300 billion USD over 10 year from Korea Institute for Basic Science. These campus site labs are led by world leading scientists, Steve Granick, Rodney S. Ruoff, and Kyung Jae Myung and will be contributing to the progress of basic sciences and society.

See also

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