Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology
UlsanNational Institute of Science and Technology, simply referred to as UNIST, 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, where world-renowned automotive, shipbuilding, petrochemical, 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. The location of the campus was finalized in 2006 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 to Ulsan Gwahak Gisurwon, 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.
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 12 science and engineering schools, a business school, and the Division of General Studies which oversees the school's first year undergraduate curriculum. In addition, there are several specialized graduate schools and research centers.
Undergraduate Schools
School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Nuclear Engineering
Institute for Basic Science 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:
#Center for Multidimensional Carbon Materials
#Center for Soft and Living Matter
#Center for Genomic Integrity
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.
