Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST; Korean: 울산과학기술원), 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 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.
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]
In 2021, the Times Higher Education ranked UNIST 178th in the world, 21st in Asia, 5th in Korea, 5th amongst world’s youngest universities.
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.[citation needed]
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.[25]
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 [26]
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:[29]
Center for Multidimensional Carbon Materials (Director Rodney Ruoff)
Center for Soft and Living Matter (Director Steve Granick)
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.
^"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.
