KAIST has embarked on fostering creative future talents based on intellectual property (IP).
On the 21st, the KAIST IP Talent Entrepreneurs Education Center held the '2025 Education Operating Committee' at The Plaza Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, and noted on the 26th that they discussed educational directions to cultivate creative future talents based on intellectual property.
The IP Talent Entrepreneurs Education Center has been operated by KAIST since receiving approval from the Korean Intellectual Property Office in November 2009, making it the country's first educational platform for entrepreneurship based on intellectual property. It operates a multidimensional education program aimed at comprehensively cultivating creative problem-solving skills, technology commercialization capabilities, and an understanding of intellectual property for adolescents.
The operating committee comprised 10 experts from academia and industry, including Jeong Jae-seung, a professor of Bio and Brain Engineering at KAIST, Jeon Ha-seong, chairman of the Early-Stage Investment Accelerator Association, science communicator 'Gwaedo,' Lee Eun-soo, a professor at Seoul National University, Lee Chae-won, a professor at Seoul National University of Science and Technology, Heo Nam-young, director of the Busan National Science Museum, Kim Jin-hee, a lawyer at JH Law Firm, and Na Young-min, a patent attorney at the Patent Court.
The meeting discussed ▲ future-oriented educational design plans ▲ expanding the utilization of domestic and international educational and industrial networks ▲ external communication strategies to spread educational outcomes. In particular, the committee members suggested enhancing students' entrepreneurship capabilities through the expansion of mentoring programs with domestic and international experts, strengthening connections with early-stage investors and accelerators, and establishing an education model centered on practical projects in collaboration with corporations.
Alongside this, the importance of education that integrates humanistic qualities was emphasized to develop social value and human-centered thinking harmoniously, beyond technology-centered education. Participants deeply agreed on the necessity of fusion-type talents equipped with humanistic thinking skills and emotional creativity and raised the need for developing relevant curricula.
Park Hyun-cheol, deputy director of the Industrial Property Policy Division at the Korean Intellectual Property Office, said, 'The Patent Office has been working for the past 16 years to discover and nurture creative and entrepreneurial youth as IP talents, and we will actively support young people so they can carve out their futures and serve as a stepping stone for challenges in the global market.'
The KAIST IP Talent Entrepreneurs Education Center plans to formalize collaboration with the industry and expand global programs through connections with world-class educational institutions and startup ecosystems.
Baek Min-jeong, the lead professor, said, 'We will actively support students in continuing their entrepreneurial challenges on the global stage through field-centered education and global connection experiences.'