KAIST President Choongsik Bae Says AI Education System Will Be Fully Rolled Out Across All Subjects Next Year

[Financial News] Choongsik Bae, president of KAIST, said, "We will redesign all subjects around an artificial intelligence (AI) education system," adding, "We will continue to rank among the global top tier by focusing on Physical AI."
At his inauguration press briefing on the 24th, Bae outlined the vision of a "global innovation-leading university with strong fundamentals" under the slogan "Fundamentals First, Innovation Forward." He also unveiled key action plans that flesh out the five innovation strategies announced at his inauguration, known as the "Beyond Series." "AI transformation across all subjects is our top priority," he said. "Starting with next year's incoming students, we will introduce AI across all subjects at once."
Earlier, at his inauguration ceremony on the 10th, Bae announced five development strategies: Beyond AI, Beyond Laboratory, Beyond Barriers, Beyond Carbon, and Beyond KAIST.
Bae explained, "We will move toward 'AI for everyone,' expanding AI from specialized knowledge in a single department to a common capability that all students and researchers must have." He added that KAIST will implement a grading system for AI use across all subjects so that no one can avoid using AI. The existing AI College will play a central role in driving AI adoption across the entire campus. In admissions, the university is discussing an efficient system that can be revamped every one to two years in line with AI education reform.
Bae added, "In the AI era, solid fundamentals and uniquely human thinking skills are even more important." He said, "By adding AI capabilities on top of those fundamentals, we will help every student use AI proactively in their own field. We will also strengthen AI core technologies and convergence research to lead a sweeping AI transformation in education and research." He emphasized the need for talent with strong fundamentals amid intensifying competition for technological dominance. "A person with strong fundamentals is someone who leads AI," he noted. As an example, he said humanities, social sciences, and basic education will first be taught as AI-free education, and AI will then be used at the end of the semester so students can produce more independent results.
He also stressed global talent education, saying, "We will continue to pursue a direction aimed at the global top tier." He added, "I believe we can be number one in Physical AI. We will devote our maximum research and support to help Korea become an AI powerhouse centered on the Physical AI field."
Bae also presented an ecosystem in which research and entrepreneurship do not remain within the university but lead to innovation in industry and society. Working with companies, KAIST plans to build an "AI Autonomous Lab" and actively use AI throughout the research process, including experiment design, execution, and data analysis, to improve the speed and productivity of R&D and develop it into a new model of industry-academia cooperation.
Bae said, "We will take the lead in entrepreneurship education and serve as a national innovation platform." He added, "Entrepreneurship education will begin as soon as students are admitted. We will divide it for freshmen, undergraduates, and graduate students so they can recognize entrepreneurship as a career path, and we will work to ensure that research achievements can also lead to startups."
Internally, the university plans to simplify personnel procedures while improving evaluation methods so they can more broadly reflect the diverse achievements and contributions of its members. It also plans to reduce the paperwork required for promotion reviews and establish evaluation criteria tailored to each field.
Yeon Ji-an, [email protected]
[email protected] Yeon Ji-an Reporter