9-dan Lee Sedol appointed as Special Professor at UNIST... "Supporting AI Research"

Go Legend Who Defeated AlphaGo Becomes University Professor... Three-Year Term
Leads Regular Board Game Production Course, Special Lecture for Freshmen

UNIST (Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, President Park Jong-rae) will appoint former professional Go player Lee Sedol as a special professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the College of Engineering (concurrently serving at the Graduate School of Artificial Intelligence) on the 17th.

On September 26 last year, Professor Lee Sedol, a special appointment professor at UNIST, gave a lecture at UNIST. Photo by UNIST

Special Professor Lee Sedol will begin a three-year term from the 17th until February 2028. Through research combining AI and Go, he is expected to create synergy in UNIST's research capabilities and educational innovation.

UNIST plans to expand its position as a global research institution based on Professor Lee's creative and challenging experiences. He is anticipated to widely promote UNIST's achievements through AI consulting, special lectures, and external exchange activities.

Starting from the first semester, he will co-lead a course titled "Board Game Production for Scientists with Professor Lee Sedol" together with Professor Lee Kang-su of the Department of Mechanical Engineering. This class was designed for UNIST students to utilize Professor Lee's experience in creating Go-based board games. Students interested in board game production will participate for one year, receiving direct mentoring from Professor Lee to produce tangible results.

Professor Lee Sedol said, "I want to share the experience of combining scientific thinking and creativity through board games with the students."

The official appointment ceremony will be held on the 20th. Prior to this, on the same day, Professor Lee will deliver an encouraging message to graduates during the degree conferral ceremony.

On the 24th, he will give a leadership special lecture to 500 new undergraduate students of the 2025 academic year, based on his experience in AI Go matches. Last September, he also gave a lecture at UNIST on "The Impact and Changes of Artificial Intelligence in the Go World."

President Park Jong-rae expressed expectations, saying, "Collaboration with Professor Lee Sedol will provide students with a new framework of thinking," and added, "His original and strategic way of thinking will breathe new vitality into UNIST's research and education."

In 2016, Professor Lee demonstrated the potential for collaboration between humans and AI by winning one match against Google's AI program AlphaGo. This event made the impact of AI technology on industry and society tangible and underscored the importance of advanced technology.